Plant Environmental Physiology Group - Ecophysiology Techniques Workshop Lisbon, Portugal - 10th - 15th September 2012. Registration is now open
By Admin | January 18, 2012
Plant Environmental Physiology Group - Ecophysiology Techniques Workshop Lisbon, Portugal - 10th - 15th September 2012.
Registration is now open
The PEPG (special interest group of SEB & BES) has re-introduced the Ecophysiology Field Techniques workshop providing a unique opportunity for MSc, PhD students and early career Post-Docs to gain hands-on experience and training in plant physiology techniques in both field and laboratory environments.
Internationally renowned scientists will explain and demonstrate key techniques:
Photosynthesis; including gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence, isotope partitioning
Plant water relations; including hydraulic conductance, thermal imaging
Plant ‘omic’ techniques; including environmental metabolomics, transcriptomics
Whole plant physiology; including growth, imaging, modelling
Speakers will include: Prof S Long, Dr E Ainsworth, Dr C Bernacchi, Dr A Leakey (Illinois); Prof H Griffiths, Dr M Davey (Cambridge); Prof L Sack (UCLA); Prof M Mencuccini (Edinburgh); Dr J Flexas (Mallorca); Dr E Murchie (Nottingham); Dr Richard Whalley (Rothamsted Research) Dr C Osborne Sheffield); Dr T Lawson (Essex).
This meeting will provide an unrivalled opportunity for manufacturers to introduce their latest equipment and provide hands-on training. Through a combination of formal lectures and practical sessions this workshop will provide an invaluable introduction for early stage researchers.
For further information on registration, costs, travel, grants and accommodation please contact tlawson@essex.ac.uk or visit the following websites:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/bs/PEPg_workshop/
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PhD opportunity: Dept. of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK
By Admin | December 22, 2011
PhD opportunity: Dept. of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, UK
The secret to living fast: why do some plants grow faster than others?
Supervisors: Colin Osborne, Mark Rees (University of Sheffield)
Collaborator: Alistair Rogers (Brookhaven National Lab, USA).
Boosting photosynthesis is widely seen as essential for achieving increased crop production, and this has led to numerous research initiatives aiming to achieve a step change in photosynthetic rates.
Out in the field, rising atmospheric CO2 linked to human activities is already beginning to boost photosynthesis, but experiments show that the resultant growth responses vary among species and among genotypes within species. The size of growth responses to enhanced photosynthesis depends on the development of ‘sinks’ to utilize fixed carbon, such as more seeds. However, we currently have no adequate framework for quantifying the limitations on sink development, and this significantly hampers our understanding of source-sink interactions.
The goals of this project are twofold. First, to develop a unified theoretical and methodological framework for understanding growth in terms of tissue development (sink strength), allometry (allocation to leaves verses roots) and physiological activity (photosynthetic carbon- and root nitrogen-uptake). Secondly, to understand how the physiological activity of leaves and roots scales with growth rate, integrating the latest methodological advances in plant science with classic fundamental insights. Methodology will combine state-of-the- art techniques for measuring metabolic activity and growth, with novel modelling methods, and classic understanding of how growth works. Our international collaborator is a world leader in the application of high-throughput metabolic phenotyping. The student will visit our collaborator to apply these methods. The PhD will also provide training in leaf gas exchange analysis, isotope tracer techniques, light microscopy and mathematical modelling. More details are available on request from Colin Osborne (c.p.osborne@sheffield.ac.uk ).
For details of how to apply see http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/aps/prospectivepg/graduate-opportunities
Note that the deadline for applications is 30 January 2012
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Colin Osborne
Dept. Animal and Plant Sciences
University of Sheffield
tel: +44-114-222-0146
lab pages: http://web.me.com/colin.osborne/lab/home.html
ecological informatics: www.grassportal.org
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Postgraduate student opportunity for funded PhD research on: ‘‘Response of C3 and C4 grasses to fire and herbivory” Rhodes University, South Africa
By Admin | December 22, 2011
Postgraduate student opportunity for funded PhD research on:
‘‘Response of C3 and C4 grasses to fire and herbivory”
Rhodes University, South Africa
South African R95 000 yr-1 for 3 years.
A collaborative project between Rhodes University, and the Universities of Sheffield and Cambridge.
The future climate of southern Africa is likely to include an increased intensity of the monsoonal system accompanied by greater fire frequency. Fire in grassy ecosystems is not selective and species that are tolerant of burning increase in abundance. Recent research has demonstrated that C4 grasses are more tolerant of burning than closely related C3 species. The C4 species recover faster after fire and have traits including higher winter fuel loads and flammability that are likely to promote seasonal burning. In addition to these direct effects on grass performance, re-growth after fire increases leaf palatability, which compounds potential palatability differences between C3 and C4 species. Hence, an understanding of the interaction of fire and herbivory is essential to understanding the future community structure of grassy ecosystems.
This study proposes to investigate this interaction by comparing the response of a model species (Alloteropsis semialata) to fire and selective herbivory using a common garden plot experiment. Replicate plots co-planted with the C3 and C4 subspecies of A. semialata have been established at Rhodes University (Grahamstown, South Africa) and will be subject to fire and selective herbivory in a factorial design.
The relative performance of C3 and C4 plants will be assessed using established techniques. Results are anticipated to take a significant contribution to our mechanistic understanding how C3 and C4 grasses respond differentially to fire.
Applicants interested should have graduated with an appropriate degree (ecology or ecophysiology) and are welcome to make enquires of either Prof. Brad Ripley (b.ripley@ru.ac.za) or Dr Colin Osborne (c.p.osborne@sheffield.ac.uk ). Applicants can be of any nationality and should send a full CV, academic transcript and details of 3 referees to Prof. Brad Ripley, Botany Department, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, or b.ripley@ru.ac.za . Closing date is the 20th January 2012. The bursary is higher than the standard NRF rate, and will support a good standard of living for a graduate student in South Africa
——————–
Colin Osborne
Dept. Animal and Plant Sciences
University of Sheffield
tel: +44-114-222-0146
lab pages: http://web.me.com/colin.osborne/lab/home.html
ecological informatics: www.grassportal.org
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