Project description DEENESFRITPL Assessing the long-term impacts of climate change on biodiversity The EU-funded ENVIRON_CHANGE project will investigate the impact of environmental change on ecosystem functions and evolutionary history over time through an interdisciplinary approach. By applying long-term monitoring and surveying, niche analysis, GIS tools, phylogenetic comparative analyses and ecological modelling, the research fellow will better understand why certain species are more able to cope with habitat alteration than others. This will provide insights into the long-term consequences of urbanisation and agriculture on the biodiversity of avian communities. The project will allow for a more detailed picture of the impact of land use change on biodiversity, which can better inform management decisions and assess the extent to which functional and phylogenetic diversities are more protected in species-rich assemblages. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Not all species equally respond to environmental changes, and some are better adapted than others to cope with the new challenges. The loss of functional and phylogenetic diversity driven by habitat loss has a great potential to alter ecosystem functioning and reduce stability, and thus impact the long-term sustainability of ecosystem services. Previous assessments on the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss due to human activities commonly adopted a space-for-time substitution approach to quantify the impacts of habitat alteration, but the impacts on ecosystem functions and evolutionary history over time still remains to be uncovered. I propose to advance the knowledge by using a multidisciplinary approach that combines long-term monitoring and survey, niche analysis, GIS tools, phylogenetic comparative analyses and ecological modelling to understand why certain species are better prepared to respond to environmental changes than others, and how the spatiotemporal variation in responses to habitat changes alters the structure of communities in terms of functional and phylogenetic diversity. Building on classic life history theory and modern theoretical and empirical work, I intend to integrate autoecology and community ecology to investigate the causes and long-term consequences of urbanisation and agriculture to the biodiversity of avian communities. The outcomes will provide us a general picture of the impact of land use change on biodiversity, allowing to better guide management decisions, and may also allow us to assess the extent to which functional diversity is more protected in species rich assemblages. I propose to develop this project under the supervision of Professor Daniel Sol, an international reference in life-history theory and responses of organisms to rapid environmental changes. We will work together at the Centre for Ecological Research and Applied Forestries - CREAF, located at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, in Spain. Fields of science humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistorynatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesphysical geographycartographygeographic information systemsnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesagricultureagricultural sciencesagriculture, forestry, and fisheriesforestry Keywords urbanisation agriculture habitat change land use change niche analysis functional diversity birds Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2020 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2020 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION ECOLOGICA Y APLICACIONES FORESTALES Net EU contribution € 160 932,48 Address UNIVERSITAT AUTONOMA DE BARCELONA EDIFICI C 08193 Bellaterra Spain See on map Region Este Cataluña Barcelona Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 160 932,48
