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Content archived on 2024-06-18

Molecular and ecological approaches to study soil food webs for enhancing biological control of insect pests and monitoring disturbances

Objective

Soil is a largely non-renewable resource with high socio-economic and natural value. Soil ecosystems sustain high biodiversity involved in complex food webs that interact with abiotic factors. Understanding these complex interactions could provide a model for monitoring soil disturbances as well as optimizing ecological scenarios to favour biological control. The aim of this post-doctoral research project is to develop and use molecular tools based on quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) to study food webs comprised of nematodes, fungi and bacteria. The new molecular tools will improve our ability to detect and quantify these organisms in soil. We intend to study the relative roles of physical and biotic components of various habits in regulating the spatial patterns of the entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN). These nematodes offer a promising non-chemical alternative for managing insect pests in a number of crops worldwide. Whereas these nematodes are generally applied to soil repeatedly as needed (augmentation biological control), we seek new information to modify the habitat (conservation biological control) in ways that will increase the efficacy of both augmented and endemic EPNs. Furthermore, these molecular tools will provide a means of monitoring human activities that cause a significant perturbation to the soil ecosystem, by monitoring changes in the occurrence and population density of organisms related to the state of soil conservation

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

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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.

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-2009-IOF
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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.

MC-IOF - International Outgoing Fellowships (IOF)

Coordinator

AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS
EU contribution
€ 241 761,10
Address
CALLE SERRANO 117
28006 MADRID
Spain

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Region
Comunidad de Madrid Comunidad de Madrid Madrid
Activity type
Research Organisations
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Total cost

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.

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