Objective
Behavioural traits are often correlated among individuals, called ‘behavioural syndromes’ in the recent behavioural ecology literature. Behavioural syndromes are shaped by the joined effects of genetic environment factors that simultaneously affecting multiple behaviours. The relative importance of each component has not yet been studied, despite major evolutionary repercussions of alternative proximate underpinnings. In the proposed study, the incoming fellow will use southern field crickets, Gryllus bimaculatus, as a study organism to test whether the acquisition of resources is an important determinant in shaping the expression of genetic correlations across diet environments. Such gene-environment interactions affecting behavioural correlations have been predicted to exist in nature because the expression of behavioural syndromes is environment-dependent in many animal taxa. Given the effect of diet on individual behavioural variation and covariation, nutrients are expected to have a role of shaping behavioural syndromes. The fellow will thus manipulate diet (carbohydrate-high or protein-high) in a quantitative genetics design, and measure multiple behaviours repeatedly. By comparing the structure of genetic correlations across two diet treatments, the fellow can test the role of diet (environment factor) on shaping genetically underpinned behavioural syndromes in crickets. If the expression of genetic correlations is indeed diet-dependent, it implies that behavioural syndromes are evolutionarily ‘labile’. The proposed work thereby represents the first experimental test of the hypothesis that the genetic structure of behaviour imposes constraints on the evolution of behavioural traits. Consequently, this proposed research will highlight how evolutionary approach to the study of behaviour shed light on the study of behavioural adaptation.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences behavioural ecology
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IIF
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
80539 MUNCHEN
Germany
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.