Objective
Animals, just like humans, differ consistently in behavioural traits such as aggressiveness, exploration, reactivity. The study of behavioural syndromes (animal personalities), defined as sets of correlated behaviours across situations, helps in explaining the evolutionary significance of individual variation. However, most studies have focussed on few model organisms with no, or relatively little, social structure. Social insects represent one of the pinnacles of social evolution. Their well-organized societies are based on an often extensive division of labour, which includes reproduction and is frequently accompanied by morphological differentiation. The extent to which this labour partitioning can be implemented depends on the efficiency of communication strategies: in particular, the communication of identity. In social insects, communication of identity involves multiple levels of recognition: inter-individual, within-colony and between-colony level. How effectively individual or group identity can be detected may depend on the behavioural type of the receiver, but this has never been explored in social insects. This project builds on the synergy between the expertise of the applicant and the host to investigate the evolutionary significance and the ontogeny of individual variation in stimulus response allowing recognition at different levels by using different species of ants, which are among the most advanced and ecologically successful animal societies. The project combines behavioural observations, chemical analysis, electrophysiology, quantitative genetics, neurobiology and cognitive studies to achieve an interdisciplinary understanding of the forces that have shaped individual behavioural variation and collective division of labour in ants. The project’s implementation will be facilitated by the applicant’s network of high-profile collaborators and will thus have a significant impact (co-operation, professional integration) and transfer of knowledge.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences neurobiology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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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-2009-RG
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
93430 VILLETANEUSE
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.