Post-Doctoral Fellowship: Evolution and Biogeographic Diversification Processes of Neotropical Tarantulas

The Laboratory of Arachnology (Laboratory of Zoological Collections) at Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, Brazil, is recruiting a postdoctoral researcher to work under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Antonio Domingos Brescovit, coordinator of the project “Systematics of Neotropical Haplogyne Spiders (Arachnida, Araneae)”, to which the research is associated.

The position is focused on the phylogeny and phylogeography of the subfamily Theraphosinae (Araneae: Theraphosidae), and the main objectives are

• to assess the monophyly and phylogenetic relations among tarantulas of the subfamily Theraphosinae, using phylogenomic data of Ultraconserved Elements;
• to evaluate the evolution of its morphological characters; to assess patterns of lineage diversification;
• and to reconstruct ancestral areas of these spiders. As secondary objectives, the project proposes to review the genera and species of the group, also testing the monophyly of the tribes Grammostolini and Hapalopini;
• to extract, to sequence and to analyze available genetic samples; to include molecular data in phylogenomic and biogeographic analyses of the subfamily;
• to map morphological characters under the new topology resulting from phylogenomic analysis; to assess the divergence process of those genera, as well as biogeographic processes through time, enabling to test hypotheses on the dispersion patterns of these tarantulas;
• and also, to address the conservational status of the biomes on which those spiders occur.

Candidates should have a Ph.D in zoology or related fields; be proficient in the systematics, taxonomy and conservation of Mygalomorphae, with focus on the subfamily Theraphosinae, and related genera of Theraphosidae; must have experience with phylogenetic, taxonomic and biogeographic analysis; and have the expertise on morphological characters of Mygalomorphae, and diagnostic characters of Theraphosinae. Knowledge of molecular data sequencing and processing, phylogenomic technics and phylogenomic data analysis are desirable. Other requirements and values are described in https://fapesp.br/bolsas/pd.

Interested applicants should send: (1) a cover letter with a brief statement of research interests, experience and qualifications; (2) CV; and (3) Contact information for three references to Dr. Antonio Domingos Brescovit ([email protected], copied to [email protected]). The submission deadline is March 31, 2024.

This opportunity is open to candidates of any nationality. The selected candidate will receive a post-Doctoral fellowship from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in the amount of R$9,047.40 monthly, and a research contingency fund equivalent to 10% of the annual value of the fellowship, which should be spent on items directly related to the research activity.