PhD in evolutionary ecology: adaptation to biological control
University of Agder, Norway — with extended research stays in Brazil

About the position
A full-time, three-year position is available at the University of Agder (UiA) in Kristiansand, Norway, as a PhD Research Fellow in Terrestrial Ecology, with a gross annual salary of NOK 550,800. The project combines evolutionary ecology research in Norway with extended research stays in Brazil, collaboration with academic and industry partners, and opportunities for research visits in Scotland and elsewhere within an international network. The position is affiliated to the Department of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Science. The starting date is negotiable with the Faculty.

The project
The position is in evolutionary ecology and centres on a fundamental question: how do natural populations respond when humans impose strong and sustained new selection pressures? Evolution depends on the genetic variation already present in populations, yet strong selection can rapidly reshape that variation. Understanding what variation persists, how populations evolve, and why responses differ among populations is important both for explaining diversity in nature and for predicting the evolutionary consequences of human intervention.

The PhD project will exploit a globally unique opportunity to observe this process unfolding across real agricultural landscapes in the context of crop protection. In parts of Brazil, living biological control agents have been deployed against agricultural pests for decades, creating landscapes in which pest populations have experienced contrasting histories of sustained selection. By combining field sampling with laboratory experiments and statistical modelling to quantify genetic variation in complex traits, the candidate will test whether these contrasting histories have driven the evolution of resistance or other life-history shifts in crop pests, and what determines the magnitude of these responses. The project therefore connects fundamental questions about genetic variation and adaptation with an urgent applied challenge: predicting the evolutionary sustainability of biological control. 

More information on the required and desired characteristics, the conditions for work and living at the University of Agder, and on how to apply are at the link below:

Application deadline: 5 November 2026
https://www.jobbnorge.no/en/available-jobs/job/308961/phd-research-fellow-in-terrestrial-ecology 
For informal enquiries about the project, please contact Dr Luc Bussière (luc.f.bussiere@uia.no). Applications must be submitted through Jobbnorge.

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