Project description
Unveiling the evolutionary impact of urban lights on pond ecosystems
Artificial light at night (ALAN) has well-known detrimental effects on terrestrial ecosystems. However, its impact on aquatic systems, particularly urban ponds, remains unexplored. The MSCA-funded ECO-EVO ALAN project addresses this, studying the disruption of zooplankton and their diel vertical migration patterns (i.e. sinking during the day and surfacing at night). This behaviour controls algal growth, and disturbance by ALAN may lead to harmful algal blooms. The project focuses on the evolutionary adaptations of water fleas to ALAN and their potential influence on urban pond ecology. This research aims to predict the intricate effects of human-induced global change on ecosystems, offering valuable insights for future socioecological and socioeconomic considerations.
Objective
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a ubiquitous feature of urbanization, and increases globally. Recent work, mainly conducted on terrestrial systems, reveals negative biological impacts of ALAN. If experienced in aquatic systems, ALAN may disrupt the delicate food web dynamics in urban ponds, with potentially detrimental consequences such as the occurrence of (toxic) algal blooms, which can cause serious harm to animals, including humans. Zooplankton, key components of freshwater systems, exert strong control over algal growth, but this crucially depends on their diel vertical migration (DVM) patterns (i.e. migrating to the bottom during day, and to the surface during night) – a dynamic known to be disrupted by ALAN. To date, very little is known about potential evolutionary adaptations in response to ALAN, whereas is has never been studied whether such adaptations can shape the ecology of ponds, e.g. top-down control of algae (so-called ‘eco-evolutionary feedbacks’). With the proposed project, I aim to study whether i) ALAN influences trait distributions and DVM of water flea zooplankton communities in urban ponds, ii) water fleas originating from these ponds have evolved genetic adaptations to ALAN in key ecologically relevant traits, and iii) ALAN-driven genetic trait changes influence the ecology of urban ponds (i.e. top-down control of algae). To achieve these aims, I will conduct a comprehensive field study, followed by laboratory common-garden experiments with ALAN-manipulation, and finally a field transplant DVM experiment. By integrating these results within an eco-evolutionary modelling framework, I will test for ecological consequences of evolutionary adaptations in one or multiple water flea species to ALAN. Given the rapid rate of urbanization, findings of the proposed research will be highly relevant in predicting the often-complex effects of (evolution towards) global change on ecosystems, with direct socioecological and socioeconomic consequences.
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.
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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.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.
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)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-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.
12489 Berlin
Germany
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