Project description
The role of urban diet and gut microbiome on animal cognition
Many ecological studies revealed cognitive differences between urban and non-urban dwelling animals linking them to the challenging dynamic nature of urban environments. However, lab-based studies proved the important effects of diet on cognitive development. Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UrbanCog project addresses the role of diet in urban-related cognition by merging theoretical frameworks and methodology from psychology, ecology and microbiology. UrbanCog will combine controlled laboratory experiments and measures of cognition in the wild, using feral pigeons, whose diet vary widely between urban and non-urban environments. It will test the effects of a high-fat high-sugar diet and the gut microbiome on cognition in three domains that are considered crucial for survival in urban environments: spatial learning, inhibitory control, and social learning.
Objective
Natural habitats are disappearing at record speeds, and our world is becoming increasingly urbanised. Recently, researchers started exploring how cognitive abilities (the mechanisms by which animals acquire, process, store and act on information from the environment) may allow animals to adapt to urban environments. Many of these studies revealed cognitive differences between urban and non-urban dwelling animals and linked these to informational challenges related to the highly dynamic nature of urban environments. Here I hypothesize that urban diets also contribute to such cognitive differences. Although lab-based studies indeed showed important effects of diet on the development of cognition, this idea so far received little attention in the urban cognition literature. I will address this important knowledge gap by combining theoretical frameworks and methodology from psychology, ecology, and microbial sciences. Furthermore, as most of the previous work linking urbanization with cognition was correlational in nature, I will supplement my interdisciplinary approach with a powerful combination of controlled laboratory experiments and measures of cognition in the wild. Specifically, I will test how high-fat high-sugar diets (WP1), and the gut microbiome (WP2) shape cognition in three domains that are considered crucial for survival in urban environments, namely spatial learning, inhibitory control, and social learning. I will use feral pigeons, a species that thrives in urban environments, and whose diet varies widely between urban and non-urban environments, as my model species. This project will build on my experience as an animal cognition researcher, allow me to develop new methods to measure cognition and acquire new skills in GPS tracking and microbiology. By combining approaches from different fields, and continuing implementing open-science practices, this project will raise my profile internationally in the field of cognitive ecology.
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.
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- social sciences psychology
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences microbiology
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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.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2021-PF-01
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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.
9000 Gent
Belgium
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.