Project description
Studying space interactions in hydroelectric dam ecosystems
The rising need for energy led to the proliferation of hydroelectric dams worldwide. However, damming is associated with some negative impacts on the environment, significantly affecting local ecosystems and tropical forests in particular. Damming causes habitat loss and fragmentation. It is noticed that after the inundation of an area, the ridgetops become islands with their own ecosystems. The EU-funded Lost-Biodiv project is a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action that intends to analyse the environmental impacts of the ecosystems of these islands. It will particularly study and evaluate the interactions between species in 35 forest islands and three mainland continuous forest areas in the biggest hydroelectric dam in South America. The research will use available data on vertebrates, invertebrates and plants.
Objective
The burgeoning energy demand worldwide has led to a proliferation of hydroelectric dams, firstly in the northern hemisphere and subsequently across tropical developing countries, which have become the new hydropower frontiers. Currently, hydropower development is already one of the primary means of habitat loss and fragmentation in tropical forests, hence a key threat to biodiversity and the ecosystem services provided to the entire humanity. After damming, all low elevation areas are inundated, while previous ridgetops in undulating terrain often become islands. The objective of this Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Action is to dissect the ecological impacts of habitat insularization induced by hydroelectric dams on ecosystem functioning, by comprehensively assessing species interactions across 35 forest islands and three mainland continuous forest sites across one of the largest hydroelectric reservoirs in South America. Firstly, specific prey-predator interactions – herbivory, insectivory and seed predation – will be quantified in situ and related to patch, landscape and habitat-quality metrics. Then, species interactions across terrestrial food webs will be evaluated using theoretical approaches based on species co-occurrence and codispersion analysis. To do so, the Experienced Researcher will use data previously collected by the host research group on vertebrate, invertebrate and plant species, and apply novel framework approaches based on mutualistic and antagonistic networks, some of them developed by the collaborator group. The innovative knowledge to be produced is expected to considerably improve strategic environmental impact assessments of planned hydroelectric dams and manage existing and future hydropower development. Moreover, while collaborating with very-high profile researchers, this Action will allow the Experienced Researcher to acquire new sophisticated analytical skills on species interactions and foodweb-related processes.
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 ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- engineering and technology environmental engineering energy and fuels renewable energy hydroelectricity
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
NR4 7TJ NORWICH
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.