Project description
Building climate-resilient marine protected areas
The capacity of marine protected areas (MPAs) for biodiversity conservation, climate adaptation and livelihood support is threatened by climate extreme events such as marine heatwaves. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the HARNESS-MPA project is developing a climate-smart framework to enhance the resilience of MPAs. This framework considers the spatial heterogeneity in species traits and habitat architecture, assessing the potential to withstand climate-induced disturbances and to recover from them. The goal is to identify the features that promote resilience and map where they can be most effectively applied under future climate scenarios. The project is helping safeguard the long-term effectiveness of MPAs in the face of accelerating climate change.
Objective
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are crucial to global and EU strategies to halt biodiversity loss, support climate adaptation, and sustain ocean-based livelihoods. Yet their potential is increasingly undermined by Extreme Climate Events (ECEs)—especially Marine Heatwaves (MHWs)—which cause mass mortality and long-term disruption, even within well-managed MPAs. As ECEs intensify, there is an urgent need for tools that can mitigate these impacts and safeguard MPA conservation goals and long-term effectiveness. HARNESS-MPA proposes a novel resilience-based framework for climate-smart MPAs, centred on the untapped potential of spatial heterogeneity—the diversity of species traits and habitat structures—to buffer ecosystems against MHWs. The project addresses three interlinked questions: WHAT heterogeneity features promote resilience, HOW these operate across ecosystems, and WHERE they can be most effectively applied. First, I will lead a global meta-analysis to identify heterogeneity features linked to ecosystem resilience under ECEs (WHAT). I will then use a unique long-term dataset from the Mediterranean coralligenous —structurally complex, biodiversity-rich habitats increasingly exposed to MHWs—to test how biotic and abiotic heterogeneity shape real-world responses, using trait-based modelling, threshold-based resilience metrics, and time-series analyses (HOW). Finally, I will bridge the host group’s strong local partnerships with MPA managers and the globally recognised Response Diversity Network to apply Response Capacity modelling and help map resilience hotspots under climate scenarios (WHERE). This fellowship will be a springboard to independence—equipping me with a cutting-edge statistical toolkit, hands-on teaching and supervision experience, and cross-institutional collaborations. It will strengthen my publication record and position me to lead future research on climate-resilient marine conservation aligned with EU strategies and global biodiversity goals.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- engineering and technology environmental engineering ecosystem-based management climate change adaptation
- 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.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-2025-PF
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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.
08007 Barcelona
Spain
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.