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Palaeogenetics and palaeoecology of the Southern European red deer, the greatest survivor of the Late Quaternary Extinction event

Project description

Exploring the survival strategies of the European red deer

Many large terrestrial mammals vanished during the Late Quaternary Extinction, a result of climate shifts and human activities. Current human impacts and climate change may lead to similar extinction scenarios. The red deer stands out as one of the few taxa that endured, maintaining a continuous presence for nearly a million years in the Iberian Peninsula. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AGENDEER project aims to collect data on the genetic structure and niche occupation of southern European fossil red deer populations, with a focus on the period before and after the Late Quaternary Extinction event. This project integrates palaeogenetic analyses, dietary behaviour studies and a pilot palaeoproteomic investigation to unravel the successful strategies that allowed Cervus elaphus to survive.

Objective

The Late Quaternary Extinction event led to a major loss of biodiversity with the global disappearance of several terrestrial large mammals. Ancient DNA studies of extinct lineages dated before the Late Pleistocene/Holocene boundary suggests that this event may have been a result of repetitive climatic shifts that fragmented large mammal populations making them more vulnerable to increasing human activities. Current climate change and human impacts on ecosystems may lead to similar scenarios of extinction. The red deer (Cervus elaphus) represents one of the few taxa that survived the Quaternary megafauna extinction, with the fossil record suggesting that its lineage has been continuously present for almost 1 Ma in the Iberian Peninsula which acted as a refugium during intense glacials. The aim of AGENDEER is to provide data on the genetic structure and niche occupation of Southern European fossil red deer populations before and after the Late Quaternary Extinction event. Through palaeogenetic and dietary behaviours analyses, as well as a pilot palaeoproteomic study, AGENDEER will investigate which winning (palaeobiological and palaeoecological) strategies that allowed Cervus elaphus to not disappear as other megafauna populations. Results will be essential to understand the survival capacity and adaptation of one of the most important species of the European natural heritage providing new information for the proper management of the species. The European Researcher will receive advanced training on state-of-the-art molecular analyses which combined with classical palaeoecological methods will greatly enhance her competence and allow her to develop her research career and leadership

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HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships

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Call for proposal

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(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01

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Coordinator

UNIVERSIDAD DE ZARAGOZA
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 165 312,96
Address
CALLE PEDRO CERBUNA 12
50009 ZARAGOZA
Spain

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Region
Noreste Aragón Zaragoza
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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