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Collaboration Project Calyptrate Origin and Evolution
We are pleased to announce that one of the PhD-student positions in Environmental and
Evolutionary Biology – curriculum in Animal Biology is targeted by an exciting project in the
systematics and evolution of calyptrate Diptera (true flies). The project is available under a
collaborative programme between the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy, and the Natural History
Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. The position is for 3 years (36
months), and the student will be enrolled under a double-degree contract between the Sapienza
University (host university) and the University of Copenhagen (partner university), with
approximately two thirds of the time based in Rome, and one third of the time based in
Copenhagen.
The collaborative programme is entitled “Calyptrate Origin and Evolution: How Flies
Flourished after the K–Pg Extinction Event”. The overall ambition is to work towards a rigorous
calyptrate phylogeny as a prerequisite for explaining calyptrate origin and evolution. More
specifically, the successful candidate will address one or more of several unresolved issues,
including: Family-level relationships in the Oestroidea; untangling the “calliphorid” lineages;
placement of key taxa like Mystacinobia, ‘McAlpine’s fly’, bot flies, and rhiniid flies; genus-level
relationships within a specific calyptrate family.
We will address key questions about the extraordinary ecological diversity of calyptrate flies by
looking more generally at calyptrate reproductive strategies and feeding strategies; as well as more
specifically on some of the associations with other organisms, which may include herbivores,
fungivores, mammal parasites, insect parasitoids, snail predators, inquilines with termites, and
mimicry.
We will address important biogeographical questions including: When and where did calyptrates
and the member families evolve? What were the timing and geographic routes of major dispersal
events, between the New World and Old World across the northern hemisphere, between South
America and Australia across Antarctica, and between North and South America?
The successful candidate which will express interest in this project is expected to combine
classical methods of systematics with innovative laboratory techniques and analytical approaches,
with travelling and field work depending on the nature of the project. The successful candidate is
expected to be able to demonstrate some previous experience with phylogenetic, evolutionary or
taxonomic studies.
Experience with next generation sequencing methodology and/or Diptera taxonomy are a plus,
and strong organization and communication skills are a must.
For further information please contact: Pierfilippo Cerretti ([email protected])
AND Thomas Pape ([email protected])