Oxytocin is a neuropeptide involved in the regulation of social behaviours across many animal taxa. Specifically, it plays a crucial role in the formation and maintenance of social bonds, including parental attachment, pair bond or group cohesion, by modulating neural circuits underlying social recognition, trust and cooperation. Most of the research to date have focused on well-studied model species such as prairie voles or primates, and often used experimental approaches in the lab. Moreover, the extent to which oxytocin’s role on social bonds may vary between sexes, social group composition, and more broadly between species remains largely unexplored. Using a unique dataset on both male and female semi-captive Asian elephants living in their natural environment, the student will investigate the association between group characteristics (e.g., sex ratio and age structure), group stability (e.g., time since integration in the group, number of recent group membership changes) as well as individual history (e.g., number of times the individual has changed groups) on individuals’ oxytocin levels.
Internship:
This project will take place at the University of Turku, Finland, within the Myanmar Timber Elephant Project lead by Prof Virpi Lummaa. For this project, the student will be supervised by Dr Axelle Delaunay, Dr Martin Seltmann, MSc Héloïse Moullec and Prof Virpi Lummaa. The Myanmar Timber Elephant Project is a multi-disciplinary and international research group, investigating the evolution, ecology and behaviour of a semi-captive population of timber elephants in Myanmar (https://elephant-project.science/). The internship will include a literature review, extensive lab work (~1.5 months) to measure the hormone concentrations in blood samples, data analyses and the write-up of a thesis.
Preferable start, beginning of 2026 but the dates are flexible.
Note: This project is based on previously collected data and does not involve field work. Our group cannot provide financial help, but you can ask for Erasmus grants and mobility grants (see the modalities with your university).
Requirements
We are looking for a motivated Master’s student who is interested in evolutionary biology, behavioural ecology and physiology and who is willing to learn more about the endocrinal basis of social behaviours in a long-lived mammal. This project requires basic knowledge of statistical analyses and previous experience with R software. Experience with lab work is an advantage. Please, send a CV and a cover letter (1 page max) before the Deadline 11/11/2025. Interviews will be held the following weeks.
Contact
Dr Axelle Delaunay, axelle.delaunay@utu.fi and Dr Martin Seltmann, martin.seltmann@utu.fi, Department of biology, University of Turku (FINLAND)
Commentaires récents