Objective
Biodiversity is changing due to global climate change and local drivers such as the introduction of invasive species, which are considered one of the greatest threats to natural ecosystems. Despite increasing impacts, little is known about the evolutionary mechanisms that lead to invasiveness in introduced species. It is thought that the greater the breadth of environmental conditions across which a species can maintain fitness, the greater the likelihood of being invasive. A major way that plants achieve this kind of niche breadth is by means of adaptive phenotypic plasticity. Phenotypic plasticity is the capacity of a given genotype to express different phenotypes under different environmental conditions. Adaptive plasticity may play an important role in facilitating biological invasions, and invasive species are often characterized by unusually high plasticity. At the intraspecific level, invasive populations are more plastic than those in the native range of the species and some studies predict that greater levels of environmental heterogeneity should select for enhanced phenotypic plasticity. Yet few studies have compared patterns of plasticity among distinct populations of invasive plant species. The potential to evolve adaptive plasticity depends on genetic variation for environmental response. Furthermore, if genetic variation for plasticity (termed genotype x environment interaction, or G x E) exists in introduced populations, and genotypes with more plasticity have a fitness advantage in the new environmental range, this will lead to evolution of increased plasticity. The goal of this project is to understand the potential of introduced plant species to rapidly evolve adaptive plasticity in response to novel environmental conditions, and how evolutionary potential may contribute to invasiveness of new habitats. In a broader sense, the ultimate goal is to expand the knowledge on plant adaptation to rapid environmental change.
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 ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology invasive species
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
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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-IOF-2008
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
28006 MADRID
Spain
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.