Project description
Lagomorph palaeobiology data for conservation efforts
Lagomorphs are crucial to many ecosystems, but climate change is pushing most of their species to the brink of extinction, which could dramatically impact ecological systems. Studying the remains of extinct lagomorphs can help reveal how some species survived past climate changes. The EU-funded REvoBBIT project will study extinct rabbits and hares from Sierra de Atapuerca (Pleistocene) using advanced methods to understand their characteristics, diet, and environmental conditions. The project aims to identify ecological factors that influenced the evolution of lagomorphs and build a comprehensive database of lagomorph palaeobiology. It will contribute to developing predictive models for biotic response and help integrate palaeontological data into conservation efforts for existing relatives.
Objective
The lagomorphs (rabbits, hares and pikas) are a successful mammalian group, which play key roles in many ecosystems (sustaining other species' communities and populations). The ongoing climate change is pushing most of their species into the extinction, and their demise can entail the decline of their communities and ecological systems consequence of a dramatic knock-on effect. The present project, REvoBBIT, aims to contribute to search solutions to this severe challenge from an unexplored perspective in this mammalian group: the Conservation Palaeontology. Through the study of the bone and teeth of extinct lagomorphs, it is possible to reveal the biological strategies and evolutionary shifts of those species or populations that were resilient and survived to past global warmings and coolings. This is a very significant knowledge to be considered in the conservation decision-making process of extant relatives. With this ultimate goal, REvoBBIT will study the extinct rabbits and hares from Sierra de Atapuerca (Pleistocene), which endured important glacial and interglacial periods, using trusty morphological methods and frontier molecular and geochemical techniques. Teeth and postcranial bones will be assessed disclosing their weight, diet, genetic size and diversity, as well as the past environmental conditions where they lived (temperature, humidity, etc.). The subsequent statistical analysis will let to identify the most significant ecological stressors and drivers that were involved in the evolution of lagomorphs. The results obtained in REvoBBIT will be the first step to build a big deep-time database of the lagomorph palaeobiology, and to develop predictive models of biotic response. At present, the significant knowledge gap in the palaeobiology and palaeoecology of this mammalian group prevents that palaeontological data will be considered in the protocol conservation design of extant relatives.
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.
- natural sciences computer and information sciences databases
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences palaeontology paleoecology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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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.4.1 - Widening participation and spreading excellence
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
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-WIDERA-2023-TALENTS-02
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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.
4485-661 VAIRAO, VILA DO CONDE
Portugal
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.