Post-DoctoralFellow

Waipapa Taumata Rau | The University of Auckland The University of Auckland is Aotearoa New Zealand’s leading university. With more than 6,000 academic and professional staff supporting over 46,000 students, we are proud to be one of the country’s largest and most diverse employers. Our people are driven by curiosity, purpose, and a shared commitment to creating positive impact for our communities. Our lecturers and researchers are regarded as experts in their fields, frequently directing global research projects designed to better the lives of New Zealanders and the world, and in turn passing this knowledge on to our students. Te Whiwhinga mahi | The opportunity A Post-Doctoral Fellowship in the Chronobiology Research Group at the University of Auckland is available for a project entitled: “Spying on the secret lives of bees: Understanding the importance of eusocial clocks for honeybee behaviour” We have a 20-month position for a post-doctoral scientist to work with us on a Marsden funded grant in which we are investigating honey bee behaviour by monitoring the patterns of electrostatic fields signatures they produce inside the hive. Using a systems approach, and new technology which allows us to measure the electrostatic charge signatures bees produce and use to communicate inside the hive, we will establish how the honeybee super-clock is controlled in its natural state. Robust daily rhythms are essential to the health and well-being of all organisms, and the breakdown of rhythms can even be used to reliably predict death. Honey bees have a complex social structure controlled by their daily (circadian) clock. This clock is at the heart of the colony structure, and without it the colony cannot function. We currently have a poor understanding of how the honeybee clock ticks. This is because it has not been possible to observe behaviour inside the hive without opening it, which damages the colony and disrupts behaviour. In this project we will use new cutting-edge t