PhD Studentship: Mapping the Manor: Burrow Architecture and Its Consequences in Wild Kalahari Meerkats

Primary supervisor - Dr Dominic Cram

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

The minimum entry requirement is 2:1. Either biology or related subject; or a quantitative degree e.g. Geophysics, Natural Sciences and Physics.

Start date: 1 October 2026

Additional Funding Information 

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).  

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