#Apennine yellow-bellied toad

[antiqueanimals]

Bombinator pachypus, Bombinator bombinus, Alytes obst, Pelobates fuscus (1897). Bruno Dürigen (German, 1853–1930)

[evoldir]

Fwd: Postdoc: Ferrara_Ancona_Italy.Two.YellowBelliedToadPopGenomics

Begin forwarded message: > From: evoldir@evol.biology.mcmaster.ca > Subject: Postdoc: Ferrara_Ancona_Italy.Two.YellowBelliedToadPopGenomics > Date: 8 August 2023 at 05:17:25 BST > To: rdmpage@gmail.com > > > > ---- Ferrara_Ancona_Italy.Two.YellowBelliedToadPopulationGenomics > > Two one-year postdoc positions (renewable for a second year) are > available in Giorgio Bertorelle and Emiliano Trucchi research groups > at the University of Ferrara (Italy) and Marche Polytechnic University > (Ancona, Italy), respectively. > > Both postdocs will work together on a recently funded project which will > be carried out between the two research groups and in collaboration with > University of Florence and Tuscia (Italy). > > Using as a model an Italian endangered endemic species (the Apennine > yellow-bellied toad, Bombina pachypus) that expanded northwards along the > peninsula after the last glaciation, and an individual-based spatially > explicit simulation model, the main scope of this project is to study > the genomic consequences of a successful postglacial expansion inferring > the major characteristics of this process and predicting the impact of > geographic range expansions over different temporal scales. > > The first position (@ Marche Polytechnic University) will be mainly > devoted to the analyses of target capture genomic data to estimate > differential loss of genetic variation and accumulation of deleterious > mutations along the yellow-bellied toad expansion route (i.e., expansion > load). > > The second position (@ the University of Ferrara) will mainly focus > on developing a realistic simulation model (i.e., using SLim) capable > of generating genomic patterns compatible with those observed in the > real system. > > Both postdocs will use the realistic simulation model to understand how > the rate of climate change and the velocity of the species in colonising > new suitable habitats affect the expansion load and thus the probability > of success of the colonisation. > > Applicants’ selection will be in November-December 2023 and the > ideal starting date between January and February 2024. Net salary will > be ca. 1600 EUR/month (which is in line with the costs of living in > small-medium sized towns like Ferrara and Ancona). > > Get in touch with Giorgio Bertorelle (ggb@unife.it) and Emiliano Trucchi > (e.trucchi@univpm.it) for further information. > > > > > Emiliano Trucchi > Department of Life and Environmental Sciences > Marche Polytechnic University > Via Brecce Bianche, 60131, Ancona, Italy > www.emilianotrucchi.it > > > > EMILIANO TRUCCHI

[funkyfrogoftheday]

today’s funky frog of the day is: bombina pachypus! commonly known as the apennine yellow-bellied toad, they are endmedic to italy. their natural habitats include forests, grassland, swamps, marshes, pastureland, ponds, and irrigated land. they are a diurnal species that hibernates from about november to april. breeding activity starts soon after the toads leave hibernation, and the females lay multiple clutches of eggs in temporary water bodies. they are able to produce a toxic secretion from its skin, and their brightly-colored bellies are a warning of this. they have an average lifespan of 8 years.

[toadschooled]

A vivid sampling of bellies belonging to the Apennine yellow-bellied toad [Bombina pachypus], a species endemic to Italy. When threatened by a predator, this toad arches its back to expose its brightly aposematic underside, as a warning of its toxicity. These toads were flipped briefly for the sake of documentation, then released. Top image by Arupalife.eu, bottom image by Giacomo Radi