Mapping the manor: burrow architecture and its consequences in wild Kalahari meerkats (CRAMD_U26BIOLVH)
Key Details
- Application deadline
- 30 April 2026 (midnight UK time)
- Location
- UEA
- Funding type
- Directly funded project (Students worldwide)
- Start date
- 1 October 2026
- Mode of study
- Full-time
- Programme type
- PhD
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Project description
Primary supervisor - Dr Dominic Cram(opens in a new window)
Background
Many mammals regularly use burrows as resting sites, predation refuges, and breeding dens. Burrows also aid thermoregulation by buffering extreme temperature fluctuations, making them vital as mammals adjust to a changing world. Despite the crucial functions burrows fulfil, we still know little about how their architecture influences their value as shelters and nurseries, and how animals interact with their subterranean environment. This exciting, multi-disciplinary, technology-driven PhD aims to clarify how the structure of breeding and sleeping burrows affects the lives of their occupants, using an exceptional long-term study of wild Kalahari meerkats (Suricata suricatta).
Research Approach
Working under the supervision of Dr Dominic Cram (University of East Anglia) and co-supervisor Professor Adam Booth (University of Leeds), you will use a suite of cutting-edge technologies (including geophysical and surveying techniques, bio-telemetry, biologging, and coding) to map and analyse complex burrow structures and their usage at our established field-site in South Africa. You will combine this with long-term behavioural and life-history data from thousands of burrow-using meerkats, to address interdisciplinary questions about how the architectural features of animal shelters affect the ecology and evolution of those using them.
Key research questions include:
How does the architecture of the birth chamber, and the wider burrow system, influence litter survival?
How does burrow structure influence thermoregulation and suitability as an overnight rest shelter?
Do meerkats show preferences for specific burrow designs?
You will also have opportunities to develop and pursue your own research questions relating to burrow structure and its effects on meerkats.
Research Environment and Training
At UEA you will join a diverse, supportive research group working across evolution, ecology, and conservation, and be embedded within a vibrant PhD cohort. By collaborating with the University of Leeds’ School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability, you will broaden your network and meet researchers working with state-of-the-art geophysical technologies. You will also join the international community of researchers working at the Kalahari Meerkat Project, and attend yearly meetings with them to network and share results. You will gain diverse skills including field ecology techniques (e.g. radio-tracking, animal handling, behavioural observation), geophysical and surveying techniques (e.g. ground-penetrating radar, relative GPS), working with big data, statistical analysis, a deep understanding of evolutionary ecology, critical thinking, scientific writing, and science communication. Training to enhance your transferable skills and employability will also be provided.
Entry requirements
Essential
The minimum entry requirement is 2:1. A degree in biology or a related subject, and a preparedness to learn and apply geo-physical techniques in the field. Alternatively, you may have a degree in a quantitative subject (e.g. Geophysics, Natural Sciences and Physics) and a willingness to engage deeply with the project’s evolutionary ecology themes. A valid driving license is essential, for safety reasons at our field site.
Desirable
Experience in the following areas is advantageous but not essential, as we will provide all necessary training: field ecology; strong technical skills (using and troubleshooting equipment); handling/analysing ecological, spatial, geophysical, or bio-logger data.
Funding
This four-year PhD project is funded by the Leverhulme Trust and is open to UK and international applicants. Funding includes tuition fees and an annual tax-free allowance at the UKRI rate (£21,805 for 2026/7).
References
i)
Thorley J., Duncan C., Herdtle A., Manser M., Cram D., & Clutton-Brock T. (pre-print). The bind of the burrow: space use is dominated by selection for burrow habitat over foraging habitat in an arid-adapted carnivore. BioRxiv.
ii)
Thorley J., Clutton-Brock T., Spence-Jones H., Turner Z., Sharp S., Manser M., Boner W.,
Gillespie R., & Cram D. (2025). The ecology of gestational growth in a wild cooperative mammal.
Journal of Animal Ecology.
iii)
Booth A. (2018) Meerkats: how we used radar to map the underground maze they call their home. The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/meerkats-how-we-used-radar-to-reveal-the-underground- maze-they-call-home-90878
iv)
Allroggen N., Booth A., Baker S., Ellwood S. and Tronicke J. (2019) High‐resolution imaging and monitoring of animal tunnels using 3D ground‐penetrating radar. Near Surface Geophysics
v)
Cram D., Monaghan P., Gillespie R. and Clutton-Brock T. (2015) Effects of early-life competition and maternal nutrition on telomere lengths in wild meerkats. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.