Additional recruitment to the Doctoral School of Natural Sciences  beyond the limit of places

Project description:     

The woolly rhinoceros (Coelodonta antiquitatis Blumenbach 1799) is an extinct species of rhino that lived in the Pleistocene in Europe and Asia. Until ca 40 ka (thousand years) it was geographically widely distributed across Eurasia, including in Poland, preferring areas of cold steppe tundra. The woolly rhinoceros, along with a second megaherbivore—the woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius)—is a crucial element of megafauna, that is a more or less cold-adapted Pleistocene large mammals. From the perspective of research results on these taxa, knowledge of the history of these two species differs significantly, with a surprising underestimation in the woolly rhinoceros, given its abundance in the fossil record. Specifically, in contrast to the mammoth, little is known about the chronological data of the woolly rhinoceros in Central and Western Europe, including Poland. There are no available DNA results for the woolly rhinoceros from Poland, and there are very few from Europe. The rhinoceros’ presence in Europe is discontinuous, or else its continuity is unrecognized due to the lack of sufficiently high resolution radiocarbon dating results, as indicated by the presence of significant gaps in the radiocarbon dating results (e.g., at ca 40–34 ka BP (before present). The date of its extinction in Eurasia is placed around 14 ka BP, but the timing of extinction across various locations in continental area is poorly recognized. Hence it is not clear whether extinction was simultaneous or gradual in different parts of Europe. The timing leading up to the final
extinction of the woolly rhinoceros in Eurasia is also important from the point of view of the size, condition and stability of its population, and touches on whether it was as genetically diverse as the population in Eastern Europe. In proposed project, entitled ‘Unraveling the chronological, geographical, and taphonomic complexities of the occurrence of the woolly rhinoceros in the Pleistocene contexts of Poland (WOOLRHINOPOLI) and Europe’ we will strive to unravel these questions by examining the remains of the woolly rhinoceros from Poland, the North Sea, and selected European countries (Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Romania, Moldova, Russia). For this purpose, we plan to collect archive data and to scan the entire territory of Poland in search of sites with remains. Studies have been designed
for taxonomic determination of remains, age and sex determination, measurements of bones and skulls (figure), determination of pathological changes in relation to past diseases or injuries, determination ofabsolute age of remains by radiocarbon dating, and DNA analysis. In addition, the analysis of all marks that have been recorded on the surface of woolly rhinoceros remains will allow us to determine the factors behind the accumulation of rhinoceros remains at the Polish sites, the extent to which they were natural, and the extent to which they were affected by anthropogenic factors. A reliable evaluation of human impact on the remains should lead to a determination of the relationship between humans and the woolly rhinoceros, which is previously unexamined in Polish studies. The integrated results will constitute the first synthetic history of the woolly rhinoceros in Poland, and will come sixty years after the last published description of the state of knowledge of this topic. The end result of the Polish research will be the creation of a database on Polish Pleistocene Woolly Rhinoceros (WOOLRHINOPOLI). We expect that the compilation of existing data on the woolly rhinoceros from other European countries, along with our planned radiocarbon and DNA studies and their integration with Polish results, will contribute to the chronological and demographic history of the species in Central and Western Europe, to the evaluation of the relationship between the range of distribution of the species and the size of the population and its genetic diversity, and to the determination of the nature of the process of extinction in the late Pleistocene.

Principal investigator: prof. UAM dr hab. Kamilla Pawłowska

Recruitment:

Selection Committeee               

• prof. UAM dr hab. Kamilla Pawłowska - chairwoman
• prof. UAM dr hab. Jędrzej Wierzbicki
  
• prof. dr hab. Błażej Berkowski
  
• prof. UAM dr hab. Małgorzata Mazurek
  
• prof. dr hab. Krzysztof Dragon
  

 secretary: dr Paweł Kaczmarek

Schedule of  the Doctoral  School enrolment procedure: 

Recruitment fee

The recruitment fee is 75 EUR.

Form of the selection procedure

Two-stage procedure.

Language of the selection procedure, including interviews:

Polish or English language. 

Required documents:

 1.        Candidates who have obtained the necessary education outside the territory of the Republic of Poland, shall additionally submit:

1)    a photocopy of a document which confirms their education, certified to be a true copy of the original document, i.e. a diploma with a supplement confirming completion of first cycle studies (Bachelor degree) and a diploma with a supplement confirming completion of second cycle studies (Master degree, MSc, MA) in the original language and in a certified translation into English or into Polish,

            2)    a photocopy of their passport. 

 Evaluation criteria

 1)    the grade awarded for the diploma of the second cycle studies or single cycle five year master’s studies - maximum 10 points; in the case of candidates who seek admission on the basis of superior academic achievements ("Pearls of Science") - 10 points;

 2)    evaluation of the candidate's scientific activity and scientific achievements; the candidate indicates for evaluation up to three documented scientific achievements, in accordance with the achievement criteria adopted by the selection committee for a given discipline - maximum 15 points;

 3)    evaluation of the candidate's other documented activity, based on a maximum of three achievements consistent with the achievement criteria adopted by the selection committee for a given discipline - maximum 5 points

 4)    the result of the interview, with the scope of the interview including:

 a)    the candidate's knowledge and competencies relevant to the planned research and appropriate to the indicated scientific discipline,

 b)    elements of research methodology appropriate for the discipline indicated.

 No more than 50 points can be awarded for the interview; the maximum duration of the interview is 30 minutes.

 5)    evaluation of the research project prepared and submitted for assessment to the selection committee (maximum 20 points), with particular emphasis on:

 a)    the ability to formulate the research objective and present the research problem;

 b)    research idea and the ability to propose a solution;

 c)    methodology appropriate to the discipline indicated;

          d)    knowledge of the state of research with a basic bibliography. 

Required qualifications:

• a Master's degree in biology, geology, or veterinary science
• knowledge of issues in the field of quaternary megafauna and motivation to carry out scientific work
• ability to plan and organize work independently and in a team, interpreting scientific results, writing academic text, and presenting the research results
• practical knowledge of recognizing animal skeleton elements will be an asset
• good knowledge of foreign languages, including English
• the candidate will be selected in an open call in accordance with the NCN regulations. 

Condition of admission to the Doctoral School 

Education Program

Education at the doctoral school lasts 8 semesters. Education at the Doctoral School  is offered on the basis of a framework curriculum and an individual research plan and ends with the submission of a doctoral dissertation.

The framework curriculum at the doctoral school includes a catalogue of modules of compulsory classes, elective compulsory classes and optional classes. It also:

1)    defines their schedule

2)    defines the way in which the classes are taught

3)    defines how learning outcomes are verified.

Supervisors

A doctoral student works under the supervision of a supervisor or supervisors, or a supervisor and auxiliary supervisor, who will be appointed by the Deputy Rector at the request of a doctoral student (within 3 months of the start of his or her studies at the Doctoral School).

Scholarships 

The scholarship is PLN 5,000 (gross-gross) . 

Rules of admission to doctoral schools of Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań in the academic year 2024/2025, Appendix to Resolution No. 478/2023/2024 of UAM Senate of 18th  December, 2023.