Funded PhD Scholarship in Ecology: The impacts of pesticide residues in soil on soil dependent pollinators
Project description:
We are seeking a highly motivated and enthusiastic student for a PhD position investigating the impacts of pesticide residues in soil on soil-dependent pollinators. Pesticides are an integral part of modern farming, but there are also concerns about their impacts on the environment and in particular their implications for insect pollinators and the services they provide to both crops and wild plants. While much research has focussed on how pollinators may come into contact with pesticides via above-ground routes (e.g. nectar, pollen, direct spray), the implications of pesticide residues in soil for pollinators are not well understood. Given that many pollinators (e.g. 70% of all bee species) depend on the soil for various stages of their lifecycle, this route of exposure urgently needs more research.
This project will investigate implications of pesticide residues in soil for a variety of organisms, including bumblebee queens and hoverflies. It will involve experimental work in the lab and in semi-field cages at the UCD Rosemount Environmental Research Station on campus.
This position will form part of the Horizon Europe funded ProPollSoil project (Understanding and managing soil health impacts to protect soil-dependent pollinators). As such this PhD position will be part of a larger project and network of several researchers across Europe, and in particular will work closely with colleagues in the University of Guelph, Canada.
Supervisor:
This position will be supervised by Dr Dara Stanley and co-supervised by Dr Simon Hodge, based in the School of Agriculture and Food Science and Earth Institute at University College Dublin, Ireland.
Stipend:
€25,000 tax free per year, plus EU fees (Non-EU applicants must be in a position to pay the shortfall in fees)
Duration:
4 years
Entry requirements:
This project is suited for applicants with a background in ecology, zoology, environmental science, agricultural science, ecotoxicology or related discipline. Applicants should hold a minimum of a 2.1 in a relevant degree programme.
Expected start date:
1st October 2025
How to apply:
Please send a) a cover letter detailing interest and motivations for the project and what you feel you could bring to it (max 2 pages), b) a CV detailing research experience and contact details of two academic/scientific references (max 4 pages) and c) an example of scientific writing (e.g. an essay, manuscript, lab report or publication etc) to Dr Stanley (dara.stanley@ucd.ie). Please save and send all documents together as one pdf file, and add “Soil Pesticide PhD” to the subject line.
Closing date for applications:
27th June 2025
For more information and for lab publications see https://www.stanleyecologylab.org/
For More PhD Positions Visit
https://scholarship360.co/phd/
