Project description
Mapping microclimates to safeguard Europe’s mammals
Ecological studies typically require the use of macroclimatic conditions, which actually fail to consider the true environmental conditions of the animal habitat. Microrefugium, covered by forest canopy, provides protection from the harsh climate owing to its relatively colder atmosphere compared to the open area. Supported by the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MicroRefugia project aims to investigate the impact of such microhabitats on the mammalian faunal assemblages in Europe. The MicroRefugia project offers the scientific basis required for protecting biodiversity in fragmented European landscapes.
Objective
To address the accelerating crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, adaptive conservation strategies must account for organismal responses to microclimatic conditions, which are often strongly decoupled from the macroclimate variables traditionally used in ecological studies. Microclimates, shaped by canopy, topography, and moisture, buffer extremes and can keep near-ground conditions cooler with narrower diurnal ranges than open air, meaning they better reflect what animals actually experience. Yet the extent to which biophysical factors shape microclimates, and how these conditions reflect species’ actual experiences and drive their responses, remains poorly understood. By leveraging my unique access to continent-wide camera-trap time series and in situ microclimate sensor networks, resources rarely combined at this scale, together with meter-scale remote sensing and advanced machine learning, this proposal, “MicroRefugia”, will uncover how microclimatic buffering mitigates climate impacts and shapes mammal community responses across Europe. The project will move beyond static spatial analyses to quantify fine-scale temporal variability in microclimates and associated shifts in mammal activity patterns, providing unprecedented insight into how species track and exploit microclimatic refugia across fragmented landscapes. This work will deliver policy-ready evidence on when and where microclimate buffering sustains vulnerable species, enriching debates on connected conservation networks and climate-smart restoration strategies to safeguard Europe’s biodiversity. Alongside these scientific advances, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions program will place me, Elham Ebrahimi, on a strong trajectory toward research leadership. The fellowship enables innovative research, targeted training, and new collaborations within the host institution and with international partners, fully aligned with the objectives of Horizon Europe.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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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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
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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-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.
3584 CS Utrecht
Netherlands
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