Further information
All projects in 'Furthering human knowledge and serving humanity'
All projects the School of Biological Sciences
Search projects by research theme
- Feeding the world
- Preventing, diagnosing and treating disease
- Furthering human knowledge and serving humanity
- Harnessing resources and energy for a sustainable future
- Restoring and maintaining balance in our natural environment
- Optimising physical and mental performance
Search projects by schools and centres
The central role of this project is to understand how environmental and ecological factors shape patterns of sexual selection in guppies.
- Summary of the project
- Eligibility criteria
- Readings
- Contact the research team leader
- How to apply
- Scholarships
Summary of the project
This project will seek to understand how patterns of sexual selection change when the context in which it operates changes. You will evaluate a range of sexually selected traits and mechanisms under different ecological, temporal, social and physical conditions. For example, how do sperm competition dynamics change when the timing of successive matings is experimentally manipulated? How does a male’s diet potentially influence his rival’s success in the race to fertilize a female’s eggs? And how do female pre- and postcopulatory preferences change according to social context?
These and other questions may form the basis of the project, depending on your specific skill set and interests. Overall, the project will provide a timely empirical evaluation of the emerging view that sexual selection is extremely labile.
Eligibility criteria
General UWA PhD entrance requirements can be found on the Future Students website.
The successful candidate will have a strong grounding in evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology or life history theory.
Requirements specific to this project include:
- An undergraduate or master's degree in a relevant discipline that encompasses coverage of evolutionary biology and/or behavioural ecology
- Good working knowledge of statistics and statistical software (e.g. R, JMP, SAS, SPSS etc.)
Readings
- Evans JP, Garcia-Gonzalez F (2016). The total opportunity for sexual selection and the integration of pre- and post-mating episodes of sexual selection in a complex world. J Evol Biol 29(12): 2338-2361.
Contact the research team leader
Once you have ensured that you meet the eligibility criteria and are ready to discuss a proposal, contact the research team leader to identify a potential supervisor.
- Research team leader: Associate Professor Jon Evans
-
- My research interests lie in the fields of evolutionary biology and behavioural ecology although my background is in marine biology. I am particularly interested in the evolution of reproductive traits, tactics and behaviour, and the interplay between successive (pre- and postcopulatory) episodes of sexual selection. My funding typically comes from the ARC’s Discovery grants scheme.
How to apply
After you have discussed your project with the research team leader you should be in a position to proceed to step two of the UWA application process: 'Lodge an application'.
Different procedures apply to domestic and international students.
Scholarships
Domestic students
All domestic students may apply for Research Training Program and University Postgraduate Awards (UPA) scholarships.
The Australian Government's Endeavour Awards and Scholarships are available to Australian applicants for study in participating countries and regions.
International students
A range of scholarships are available from international organisations and governments. The full list, organised by country, is available on the Future Students website.
In addition, all international students may apply for International Research Training Program scholarships.
The Australian Government's Endeavour Awards and Scholarships are available to international applicants from participating countries and regions.
Indigenous students
Indigenous students are encouraged to apply for Indigenous Postgraduate Research Supplementary Scholarships.
Forrest Foundation scholarships
All international and Australian students who wish to study towards the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at The University of Western Australia may apply for Forrest Scholarships.
University information
CRICOS Code: 00126G
