This is an exciting two-year opportunity to work at the forefront of a new area of research exploring the function of antipredator colouration in animal aggregations. This position is to replace the work of a current postdoc, who will be shortly starting their own fellowship hosted by the lab. Working alongside Dr Robert Heathcote and in conjunction with global collaborators, you will lead on the delivery of lab and field-based studies investigating the collective and social behaviour of a wide range of freshwater and marine fish species, and ultimately how this affects the behaviour of their predators and conspecifics. You will have access to the infrastructure, tools, and expertise to develop and implement a wide range of methodologies such as using cutting-edge visual modelling, innovative and carefully-designed behavioural experiments, in-silico reconstructions of animal interactions, and bio-mimetic robotic systems. You will benefit from a vibrant and inclusive research community, with career development support.

 

You will have strong interests in social behaviour, sensory ecology, and predator-prey interactions, ideally with experience in running behavioural experiments on fish in the field or the lab, coupled with strong computational skills in R and/or Python relating to data management and analysis.

 

An essential requirement for this role is that the post holder is willing to spend up to 8 weeks of continuous time on fieldwork at various locations, managing a small team of research assistants and graduate students, sometimes in remote tropical locations with little infrastructure, and can drive a 4x4 vehicle in difficult terrain within six months of the post commencing.

 

Candidates who have submitted their final PhD thesis at the point of interview and are awaiting final examination are eligible to apply for this role.

The University of Oxford is committed to equality and valuing diversity. All applicants will be judged on merit, according to the selection criteria.

 

Applications for this vacancy are to be made online via our e-recruitment system, and you will be required to upload a supporting statement and CV as part of your online application.

 

The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on Friday 18th July 2025, and interviews will be held late July/early August. The role will commence 1st October 2025.