Project description
Genetic characterisation of ancient African bovids
The recent palaeoecological characterisation of the drowned Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP, South Africa) placed the subfossil collections of African bovids into significant environmental and temporal context. However, it lacks a genetic characterisation of mammals. The EU-funded PalaeoBovids project will use palaeogenomic techniques to generate ancient mitochondrial genomic data of six African bovid species connecting five time periods over the last 100 000 years. The project, hosted at the GLOBE Institute (University of Copenhagen), will use the data to investigate drivers of temporal changes in genetic diversity – the emergence of pastoralism, over-hunting by colonial settlers, recent population fragmentation, and the impacts on various feeding groups. PalaeoBovids will deepen our understanding of the impact of climate, disease and humans on species extinction.
Objective
The recent, detailed palaeoecological characterisation of a drowned ecosystem off the southern coast of Africa, known as the Palaeo-Agulhas Plain (PAP), has placed subfossil collections of African bovids from archaeological sites along this coast into meaningful environmental and temporal context. For the excellent work done to describe this palaeoecosystem, genetic characterisation of the mammals that roamed its plains is lacking, despite an abundance of subfossils available. In this Action, I will use palaeogenomics techniques to generate ancient mitochondrial genomic data of six African bovid species spanning five time periods over the past ~100,000 years, including the present. The target species represent three broad feeding guilds: grazers- Cape buffalo, long-horned buffalo (extinct) and southern reedbuck, a mixed feeder- common eland, and browsers- grey rhebok and Cape grysbok. These data will be used to investigate drivers of temporal changes in genetic diversity, such as climate change, range-size change due to the emergence and submergence of the PAP with changing sea levels, the emergence of pastoralism in human societies, over-hunting by colonial settlers, and recent population fragmentation, and whether different feeding guilds were affected discordantly. The project will be hosted by Assoc. Prof. Eline Lorenzen, a respected expert in the field of African bovid phylogeography and ancient DNA, at the GLOBE Institute at the University of Copenhagen, which houses a world-leading ancient DNA facility. This Action will improve my current scientific and transferable skills and will provide the opportunity for me to learn valuable new skills that will considerably enhance my future career prospects. In this Action, I will generate the first population-level palaeogenomic data of wildlife from southern Africa and contribute novel and valuable insights into the population dynamics of African bovids in relation to climate, humans, disease and extinction.
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 genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
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-2020
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.
1165 KOBENHAVN
Denmark
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.