The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology
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PhD position: Evolution of Fish Life History Strategies Institute of Vertebrate Biology of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Czech Republic
Degree Level
PhD
Field of study
Evolutionary Biology
Funding
Available
Deadline
Nov 15, 2026
Country
Czech Republic
University
The Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Biology
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About this position
This fully funded PhD project explores how life-history strategies evolve in freshwater fishes, focusing on the interplay between ecological pressures, evolutionary history, and ancestry. The student will work within a broader comparative framework on traits linked to reproductive biology, reproductive investment, sexual selection, and adaptation to challenging environmental conditions.
The project is centered at the Reichard Lab at the Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Czech Academy of Sciences, an international research group working on fish evolutionary ecology, life-history evolution, reproductive biology, and evolutionary diversification. The successful candidate will develop the precise research questions together with the supervisor, allowing substantial room to shape the project around personal scientific interests while contributing to the overarching aims of the study.
There are two complementary research directions available. One route combines experimental and comparative work: generating new life-history data from fishes and integrating them into comparative and phylogenetic analyses. The other uses phylogenomics and evolutionary diversification, with genomic data applied to deeper evolutionary relationships within Nothobranchius, a diverse group of African annual killifishes, and to comparative analyses built on the resulting phylogeny. The two approaches may also be combined.
The research environment includes access to a well-equipped fish breeding facility, laboratory aquaria, and an outdoor mesocosm system for controlled and more ecologically realistic studies. The project also offers training in comparative evolutionary biology, experimental ecology, phylogenetics, and phylogenomics, depending on the chosen direction.
Funding details
Available
What's required
Applicants should have an MSc degree in biology, zoology, ecology, evolutionary biology, or a related discipline. English level: good. Experience with comparative phylogenetics or evolutionary analysis, experimental work with fishes, molecular laboratory techniques, genomics or phylogenomics, and statistical modelling or mathematical approaches to evolutionary biology would be advantageous, but none of these are formal requirements. Candidates should have strong scientific curiosity, motivation to develop their own research ideas, and an interest in evolutionary biology.
How to apply
Email a CV and one-page cover letter explaining your motivation and, if possible, briefly outlining your research interests to [email protected]. Applications received by 15 November 2026 will be fully considered. Selected candidates will have an online interview, and the formal university application must then be completed by 30 November 2026.
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.
Make your next move.
Prepare your application
Review drafts and confirm requirements with the university.