Project description
Studying the evolution of Australian reptiles
All forms of life on Earth exist in their own unique niches, allowing species to coexist and biodiversity to accumulate. While high-dimensional trait data exist for birds and mammals, reptiles are poorly represented. The EU-funded EARtH project will fill this knowledge gap by creating a niche database for all Australian lizard and snake species. The research fellow will investigate properties across time and the diverging evolution of Australian reptiles to test for the influence of biotic interactions on niche evolution. This novel approach will provide insights into the community assembly process which has made Australia the world's richest reptile hot spot. By comparing trends across the Australian landscape, the project will also test for links between occupancy, phylogenetic turnover and climate.
Objective
All forms of Life on Earth exist in their own unique niches defined by their appearance, behaviour, and preferred environment. These niches allow species to coexist and for biodiversity to accumulate at local, regional, and continental scales. By quantifying these niches in many dimensions we can build a hypervolume that describes diversity through variation in niche axes. While high dimensional trait data of this kind exist for birds and mammals, reptiles—which account for 30% of terrestrial vertebrate species—are poorly represented in these data and empirical studies of niche evolution. In EARtH I aim to fill this knowledge gap by building a high dimensional niche database for all Australian lizard and snake species (15 morphological measurements, 10 environmental variables, >1,000 species, ~10% of global reptile richness). Both biotic (character displacement through competition) and abiotic (habitat filtering) influences are expected to have predictable effects on niche evolution. By investigating hypervolume properties through time and across Australian reptile radiations I will test for the influence of biotic interactions on niche evolution. This novel approach will provide insight into the community assembly process which has made Australia the world’s richest reptile hotspot. By comparing trends across the Australian landscape I will also test for associations between hypervolume occupancy, phylogenetic turnover, and climate. Undertaking this fellowship will help me to develop comparative methods, museum curatorial, and reproducibility skills that complement my background in phylogenetics and macroevolution, making me a stronger and more independent researcher. In return, I look forward to sharing my skills and findings with the staff and visitors of the Natural History Museum in London and beyond.
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 computer and information sciences databases
- humanities history and archaeology history
- 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.
SW7 5BD London
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.