Nigel Groome Studentship: Pushing the limits of museuomics: investigating the disappearance of Mazarine Blue butterfly (Cyaniris semiargus) and the Large Copper (Lycaena dispar) in the British Isles

Climate change and habitat degradation are causing global biodiversity declines. Extinction risk is acute for invertebrates, which are difficult to monitor but are often of direct or indirect socioeconomic importance.

Museum samples are a treasure trove for understanding extinction events but their use remains challenging and limited. Developing better tools to further unlock this treasure trove for using genomics to understand extinction events and applying this information more widely to monitor population health in existing species.

Building upon previous work in our group, this project aims to use museum samples of regionally extinct Mazarine blue and Large Copper butterflies to provide a genomic analysis of their extinction in the UK. Additionally, the project will involve optimizing whole genome sequencing protocols for working with older museum specimens and developing best practices for conducting metagenomics with museum insect specimens.

Additional training will be provided as part of the programme of study and there will be networking/collaboration opportunities with other Lepidopterists across Europe. For more information about the project, interested candidates are encouraged to look at The Insect Genomics lab @Brookes webpage. 

The studentship requires you to undertake the equivalent of up to 6 hours of teaching per week on average, during semester time, and to include preparation and marking (but no more than 20 hours per week), and to participate in a teaching skills course without further remuneration.