Objective
This proposal aims at improving use of stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis for diet reconstruction, and applying these improvements to existing data for free-ranging African herbivores. Experiments with a mixed-feeding herbivore (goats Capra hirca) will be designed, to explore interactions of isotope recovery with diet, feeding behaviour and digestive physiology. These effects will be explored in experimental trials using different diets (grass or alfalfa) and diet mixtures (varying proportions of grass and alfalfa). Our objectives are to i) determine whether and how different types of diet influence isotope fractionation from diet to consumer; ii) determine and quantify interactions of carbon with nitrogen isotope abundances with respect to herbivore feeding niche; iii) determine how feeding behaviour is influenced by diet composition; and iv) model existing isotope data to determine effects of diet composition on feeding ecology in free-ranging herbivores. This study is one of few to attempt resolution of mechanistic models for isotope fractionation, and also, because the data gathered are directly relatable to existing field data (primarily from South Africa’s Kruger National Park), attempt to upscale these processes from experimental to free-range conditions. We will, in turn, develop and test mixing models explicitly accounting for variation in fractionation effects. Similarly, derived functional response parameters will be upscaled to landscape and population levels, allowing us to generate hypotheses about the role of diet composition on density-dependence in plant-herbivore interactions. This project merges researchers with expertise in stable isotope and population ecology, and nutritional evolutionary physiology, respectively. At the same time, it provides opportunity for integration of the fellow (an EU national) within an EU research institute, and to develop further collaborations with scientists in the EU community.
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
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture industrial crops fodder
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
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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-IIF-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
8006 ZURICH
Switzerland
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.