Objective
Understanding the forces that create variation in individual fitness is fundamental to predicting population and evolutionary dynamics. Yet major questions regarding the causes and consequences of variation in fitness remain unanswered. Variation in male ‘paternity success’ (i.e. success in siring offspring) is a major fitness component that underpins multiple key evolutionary processes. Understanding the causes and consequences of this variation is consequently an ongoing challenge in evolutionary ecology. Progress requires integration of multiple disciplines, including physiology and quantitative genetics, to quantify determinants of paternity success in natural populations.
In PatSuccess, I will provide new insights into key forces that shape variation in male paternity success and reproductive fitness. My objectives are to 1) quantify effects of inbreeding on key sperm performance traits and oxidative damage, thereby linking inbreeding with physiology and fitness in a wild population; 2) quantify relationships between key sperm performance traits and oxidative damage and male paternity success, thereby identifying physiological predictors of reproductive fitness; and 3) estimate heritability of male paternity success and additive genetic covariance with female multiple mating, thereby testing key hypotheses explaining the evolution of male and female reproductive strategies.
I will achieve these objectives by developing and applying new measures of sperm performance and oxidative damage and state-of-the-art quantitative genetic analyses within an outstanding long-term field study on song sparrows (Melospiza melodia) where >20 years of paternity and pedigree data are already available.
PatSuccess will thereby provide novel empirical understanding of the forces that shape variation in male paternity success and consequent selection on reproductive strategies, and substantially advance my skills and opportunities to become an independent research leader.
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 genetics
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology evolutionary ecology
- 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-2012-IEF
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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.
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
AB24 3FX Aberdeen
United Kingdom
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.