Objective
Species on islands are widely believed to undergo similar evolutionary changes as an adaptation to the island environment, a process referred to as the ‘island syndrome’. These changes affect morphological, reproductive, physiological and behavioural traits such as sexual selection. Evolutionary change on islands is believed to relate to genetic (e.g. bottleneck) and ecological factors (e.g. release from natural enemies such as parasites and predators). However, very few broad-scale tests of these patterns have been conducted and few detailed studies examined the underlying processes. Additionally, previous studies were mostly based on data obtained from the literature, which are typically variable in quality. This is surprising given the central role of islands in ecological and evolutionary theory. Whether an ‘island syndrome’ does exist or not can only be established by demonstrating that a set of traits has arisen independently several times in unrelated taxa and geographically distinct areas. We propose to examine whether there are consistent patterns of adaptation in morphological, reproductive and sexually selected traits of island birds worldwide and to investigate some of the underlying causes. To this end, we will first collect standardised data from museum specimens for islands and nearby mainland areas from around the world consisting of morphological, egg and plumage colour measures. Subsequently, we will investigate in detail some of the underlying processes and consequences of evolutionary change on islands in the Gulf of Guinea using weaver (Aves, Ploceidae) species, for which phylogeographic data is available, on the island of São Tomé and nearby mainland Gabon. Specifically, we will address the interaction between decreased parasite pressure, immunity, intensity of sexual selection and reproductive investment to elucidate some of the constraints and trade-offs that lead to changes on islands.
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.
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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-2007-2-1-IEF
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
75794 PARIS
France
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.