Post-doc position: influence of species interactions on thermal tolerance

Post-doc position: influence of species interactions on thermal tolerance
One post-doc position focusing on the ecological consequences of global warming on aquatic ecosystems is available at the RECOVER laboratory in the freshwater ecology (FRESHCO) team at the INRAE of Aix-En-Provence (France). The post-doc will work under the supervision of Arnaud SENTIS (INRAE), in collaboration with other researchers, post-doc, PhD students and technicians. This position is part of a large European project (ERC project Climate CountDown) investigating the thermal vulnerability of freshwater communities (https://www.inrae.fr/en/news/erc-grant-evaluate-thermal-limits-lake-communities). The successful applicant will have the opportunity to work and collaborate with other people involved in this project.

Topic:
Ectothermic animals are particularly sensitive to global warming as their body temperature closely matches the surrounding environmental temperature. Most predictive models of ectotherm responses to extreme warm temperature use the upper critical thermal maximum (CTmax) as an indicator of their heat tolerance (Pinsky et al. 2019). CTmax is typically measured in laboratory trials by exposing a single individual to a gradual temperature increase until it loses its locomotor functions. The CTmax is critical in defining the fundamental niche of ectothermic animals, their biogeographical distribution (Sunday et al. 2012, Desforges et al. 2023) and the lethal effects of heat waves (Genin et al. 2020). Climate change is increasing thermal vulnerability by increasing exposure to heat waves so that extinction risk is becoming critical (Jørgensen et al. 2022).

Intra- and interspecific interactions are ubiquitous in ecological communities and the impact of climate change for a species or a community depends on consequential changes in the nature and strength of interactions within the community (Boukal et al. 2019, Sentis et al. 2021). An accumulating body of knowledge has revealed how species interactions can influence individual physiological processes such as growth, fecundity, and metabolic rate (Tollrian and Harvell 1999, Kolar et al. 2019). Yet, we lack studies evaluating to what extent species interactions influence individual CTmax as CTmax trials are performed on single individuals. The aim of this post-doc will be to test how antagonistic interactions in freshwater species influence their CTmax. This will be tested using laboratory trials on fish, macroinvertebrate and zooplankton species.

Candidate competences:
We are seeking highly motivated post-docs with good organizational skills and strong interests in both quantitative and experimental ecology, as well as global change ecology. Ph.D. students in biology, ecophysiology, ecology or a related field are welcome. Candidates should be sufficiently fluent in English to be able to read and write scientific articles, and engage in discussions. Previous experience with ecophysiology, thermal ecology, freshwater fauna, laboratory/mesocosm experiments, and statistical analyses (R software) will be strongly appreciated. We are looking for persons with open mind attitude, proactive and capable to carry out research with a certain degree of autonomy.

Practical information:
Starting date: 01/11/2025.
Duration: 2 years
Location: INRAE, UMR RECOVER, 3275 route Cézanne, 13182 Aix-en-Provence, France
Dead-line for application: 08/09/2025.
To apply: please send your CV, a motivation letter, Master diploma/results, as well as a maximum of 2 recommendation letters to Arnaud Sentis (arnaud.sentis@inrae.fr).
Informal enquiries are welcome – please contact us by email in french or english.

References:
Boukal, D. S., A. Bideault, B. M. Carreira, and A. Sentis. 2019. Species interactions under climate change: connecting kinetic effects of temperature on individuals to community dynamics. Current Opinion in Insect Science 35:88-95.
Desforges, J. E., K. Birnie‐Gauvin, F. Jutfelt, K. M. Gilmour, E. J. Eliason, T. L. Dressler, D. J. McKenzie, A. E. Bates, M. J. Lawrence, and N. Fangue. 2023. The ecological relevance of critical thermal maxima methodology for fishes. Journal of Fish Biology 102:1000-1016.
Genin, A., L. Levy, G. Sharon, D. E. Raitsos, and A. Diamant. 2020. Rapid onsets of warming events trigger mass mortality of coral reef fish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117:25378-25385.
Jørgensen, L. B., M. Ørsted, H. Malte, T. Wang, and J. Overgaard. 2022. Extreme escalation of heat failure rates in ectotherms with global warming. Nature 611:93-98.
Kolar, V., D. S. Boukal, and A. Sentis. 2019. Predation risk and habitat complexity modify intermediate predator feeding rates and energetic efficiencies in a tri-trophic system. Freshwater Biology 64:1480-1491.
Pinsky, M. L., A. M. Eikeset, D. J. McCauley, J. L. Payne, and J. M. Sunday. 2019. Greater vulnerability to warming of marine versus terrestrial ectotherms. Nature 569:108-111.
Sentis, A., J. M. Montoya, and M. Lurgi. 2021. Warming indirectly increases invasion success in food webs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 288:20202622.
Sunday, J. M., A. E. Bates, and N. K. Dulvy. 2012. Thermal tolerance and the global redistribution of animals. Nature Climate Change 2:686-690.
Tollrian, R., and C. D. Harvell. 1999. The ecology and evolution of inducible defenses. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.