Project description
Threats to East Africa’s lions from pollution
In the vast expanse of East Africa, the regal lion decreasing populations are facing a silent menace – pollution. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has identified pollution as a looming threat to these majestic creatures. However, little is known about the pathways of metal pollution from mining to lions. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the LEOTHREAT project will investigate metal exposure in lions and their primary prey near mining sites and pristine reference areas. The project will evaluate also non-invasive fur sampling techniques as a biomonitoring tool for metal exposure. Overall, its inquiry centres on exposure routes for metals in East African lion populations, with the hypothesis that mining sites may inadvertently expose these iconic animals to harmful metals.
Objective
The lion population of East Africa is declining due to several reasons, and pollution listed as one of the current threats by IUCN. However, no data on exposure routes of pollution from mining on lions in East Africa are available and metal pollution in terrestrial ecosystems in East Africa is understudied. The current proposal aims to fill this gap by looking at both metal exposure in lions and their main prey close to mining areas and in reference areas away from suspected pollution. In addition, non-invasive sampling of fur will be assessed as biomonitoring tool for metal exposure. Finally, we will provide recommendations to local authorities and communicate our findings to local communities. This project will give me the opportunity to apply my previous knowledge on metal pollution in wildlife and to gain new expertise working in African ecosystems and with African communities, as well as gain new practical skills, such as sampling large carnivores. Furthermore, my supervisors at the Norwegian University of Science in Technology (NTNU) provide interdisciplinary expertise within ecotoxicology (Prof. Jaspers) and conservation ecology (Prof. Røskaft).
LEOTHREAT’s main research question is: What are the main exposure routes for metals in East African lion populations? I hypothesize that lions inhabiting mining sites may be exposed to metals due to the ingestion of contaminated prey and water. The exposure to toxic metals may cause adverse effects on their health, thus contributing to population declines. Me and local collaborators will study metal exposure by sampling blood and fur from lions inhabiting areas close to mines as well as from lions ranging areas unsuspected to be contaminated.
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.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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.
7491 TRONDHEIM
Norway
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.