PhD Studentship: Modelling coevolution in aquatic environments shaped by flowUniversity

Coevolution is the process of species evolving together and influencing each other’s evolutionary path. For a system of microbes and viruses, this entails an ongoing dynamic of the host microbe evading infection and the virus overcoming this protection. However, when fluid flow drives these partners apart, several questions arise: How will past coevolution affect the interactions with new partners?

How long do signatures of past coevolution persist? What happens when descendants re-encounter after stretches of isolated evolution, again through fluid flow? Understanding these questions is essential for understanding evolution in the ever-changing world of aqueous ecosystems. You will address these questions with physical modelling, simulations, machine learning and analytical calculations with a strong focus on parameters describing oceanic ecosystems. Following a bottom-up approach, you will first develop agent-based simulations in a prototypical flow field to test biological hypotheses on the effect of flow fields on coevolution, supplemented by analytical calculations and machine learning. In a second step, you will translate and test these findings to larger systems with more complex flow fields mimicking the situation in the ocean.

To achieve this goal, you will develop a hybrid modelling approach incorporating the efficiency of concentration-based and the stochasticity of agent-based modelling. You will join a supervisory team that is dedicated to research at the interface of physics and biology with significant research experience in model building and simulations: Wolfram Moebius (Exeter), a physicist with research experience and interest in evolution of bacterial viruses, and Daniel Kattnig (Exeter), a physicist and expert in large-scale simulations. We will collaborate with Adam Monier (Exeter) on the application to the marine environment and with Kit Yates (Bath) on the development of a hybrid simulation scheme. The research will take place in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the Living Systems Institute, providing a stimulating atmosphere and plenty of opportunities for cross-disciplinary interactions, input, and advice.

Funded by: EPSRC Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

£21,805. The studentship will provide funding of fees and a stipend of £21,805 per annum for 2026/7.