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    Animal Ecology
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    University of Glasgow

    Animal Ecology

    University of Glasgow

    University of Glasgow

    flag

    United Kingdom, Glasgow

    University RankQS Ranking
    78

    Key Facts

    Program Level

    PhD (Philosophy Doctorate)

    Study Type

    Full Time

    Delivery

    On Campus

    Campuses

    Main Site

    Program Language

    English

    Start & Deadlines

    Next Intake Deadlines19-Sep-2026
    Apply to this program

    Go to the official application for the university

    Duration 4 year(s)
    Tuition Fee
    GBP 33,210  / year
    Next Intake 19-Sep-2026

    Animal Ecology

    About

    The environment is changing faster than at any time in recorded history due to a range of factors including climate change, habitat loss, renewable energy developments, pollution and over-exploitation of natural resources. These changes are having profound effects on biodiversity and human and animal health, and we need to be able to predict the consequences. Our School integrates studies of the effects of environmental change operating at all levels of biological organisation. For instance, at the cellular level we are investigating how environmental conditions influence physiological and molecular processes including metabolism, oxidative damage, telomere loss and the rate of ageing. This is linked to studies of how individual animals and plants cope with environmental fluctuations, and how in turn this influences population dynamics, species interactions (including those between parasites, vectors and their hosts) and community structure. We conduct both short-term experiments and long-term monitoring of wild populations (at a range of field sites including loch and woodland research programmes at SCENE, our field station on the banks of Loch Lomond). We have many links to other research being undertaken both within the School and the wider university. For example:

  • the effect of environmental conditions on disease transmission or food production
  • investigation of how animals evolve in the face of changing environments
  • links with geographers, statisticians and mathematicians in the College of Science and Engineering
  • A variety of approaches are used, including collection of experimental and observational data, epidemiological, mathematical, computational and statistical modelling, bioinformatics, physiology, parasitology, immunology and polyomics (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics). Individual research projects are tailored around the expertise of principal investigators within our Schools. Basic and applied science projects are available involving field, laboratory and in silico approaches within research programs underway in both the UK and overseas. Specific areas of interest include:
  • conservation management of African ecosystems
  • protected area management
  • measuring biodiversity and abundance (this presumably overlaps with other themes)
  • human dimensions of conservationAquatic ecosystem connectivity
  • sustainable aquaculture
  • behavioural and physiological approaches to improved production and welfare of farmed fish
  • evolutionary ecology, life-history trade-offs and phenotypic evolution
  • long-term effects of early environments on adult performance
  • phenotypic plasticity and flexibility in variable environments
  • ecology and physiology of marine animals
  • effects of Marine Protected Areas
  • effects of climate change on the abundance, body size, physiology and behaviour of aquatic organisms
  • fisheries-induced evolution
  • applied poultry science
  • evolutionary processes within rare fish populations
  • conservation strategies for rare and endangered fish and bird species
  • control of invasive non-native species
  • impact of freshwater and marine renewable technologies on fish
  • evolutionary and ecological impacts on parasite life cycles
  • avian behaviour and ecology, including both marine and terrestrial birds
  • changes in phenology and in daily rhythms
  • migration and movement of birds, mammals and fish
  • understanding how biological clocks affect organisms' response to environmental change
  • effects of urbanisation on health of individuals, populations and ecosystems
  • effects of light pollution
  • understanding how biological clocks help or hinder organisms' adjustment to environmental change
  • cold adaptation in marine mammals and birds
  • the effect of environmental stress on the physiology, behaviour and life histories
  • applied poultry science
  • ecology of neotropical rainforest birds
  • the effect of fishing practices on the evolution of wild fish populations (fisheries induced evolution)
  • the effects of animal physiology and environmental change on animal social behaviour and collective decision-making
  • effects of exposure to pollutants on physiological systems
  • possible transmission of antimicrobial resistance between species through environmental pollution
  • effect of climate change and deforestation on vector-borne disease
  • data-driven modelling of population dynamics and epidemics
  • developing new methods for species distribution modelling
  • We aim to predict the consequences of rapid environmental change such as that due to climate, habitat loss, renewable energy growth, pollution and over-exploitation of natural resources on biodiversity and human and animal health.

    Requirements

    Entry Requirements

    A 2.1 Honours degree or equivalent.

    English Program Requirements

    For applicants whose first language is not English, the University sets a minimum English Language proficiency level.

    International English Language Testing System (IELTS) Academic module (not General Training)

    • 6.5 with no subtests under 6.0
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test
    • IELTS One Skill Retake accepted.

    Common equivalent English language qualifications accepted for entry to this programme:

    TOEFL (ibt, my best or athome)

    • 79; with Reading 13; Listening 12; Speaking 18;Writing 21
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements , this includes TOEFL mybest.

    Pearsons PTE Academic

    • 59 with minimum 59 in all subtests
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Cambridge Proficiency in English (CPE) and Cambridge Advanced English (CAE)

    • 176 overall, no subtest less than 169
    • Tests must have been taken within 2 years 5 months of start date. Applicants must meet the overall and subtest requirements using a single test.

    Oxford English Test

    • Oxford ELLT 7
    • R&L: OIDI level no less than 6 with Reading: 21-24 Listening: 15-17
    • W&S: OIDI level no less than 6

    Trinity College Tests

    Integrated Skills in English II & III & IV: ISEII Distinction with Distinction in all sub-tests.

    University of Glasgow Pre-sessional courses

    Tests are accepted for 2 years following date of successful completion.

    Alternatives to English Language qualification

    • Degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
      • students must have studied for a minimum of 2 years at Undergraduate level, or 9 months at Master's level, and must have complete their degree in that majority-English speaking country and within the last 6 years
    • Undergraduate 2+2 degree from majority-English speaking country (as defined by the UKVI including Canada if taught in English)
      • students must have completed their final two years study in that majority-English speaking country and within the last 6 years

    For international students, the Home Office has confirmed that the University can choose to use these tests to make its own assessment of English language ability for visa applications to degree level programmes. The University is also able to accept UKVI approved Secure English Language Tests (SELT) but we do not require a specific UKVI SELT for degree level programmes. We therefore still accept any of the English tests listed for admission to this programme.

    Pre-sessional courses

    The University of Glasgow accepts evidence of the required language level from the English for Academic Study Unit Pre-sessional courses. We also consider other BALEAP accredited pre-sessional courses:

    Fee Information

    Tuition Fee

    GBP 33,210 

    Application Fee

    GBP  
    University of Glasgow

    Animal Ecology

    University of Glasgow

    [object Object]

    United Kingdom,

    Glasgow

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