Objective
"Livebearing is a reproductive strategy that confers both costs and benefits to females. One important cost is a reduction in locomotory performance of the mother during her pregnancy. This can detrimentally influence her feeding efficacy and her ability to avoid predation. Some livebearing organisms have evolved reproductive life-history adaptations that help minimize these locomotory costs. For example, in livebearing snakes the transition to an arboreal life style is accompanied by a repositioning of the paired ovaries along the length of the body, to reduce overlap; this reduces bodily distension and enhances climbing ability of the females during gestation.
I recently proposed that the placenta is a life-history adaptation that evolved in livebearing fishes to minimize adverse effects on locomotory performance during gestation (Pollux et al. 2009). I propose to test this novel hypothesis in a biomechanical study by comparing the consequences of pregnancy for locomotory performance between closely related livebearing species with and without placentation. The fish family Poeciliidae offers a unique opportunity to test this hypothesis because the placenta evolved several times in this family (Pollux et al. 2009). In this project we take advantage of this unique feature by selecting two species-pairs that each represent an independent evolutionary origin of placentation within the family. Specifically, I will test (1) whether placental species have a lower reproductive burden and a smaller abdominal distension during pregnancy than non-placental species; (2) whether these differences decline over the course of gestation; (3) whether pregnancy influences the composition and volume of the trunk muscles, and how this differs between placental and non-placental species; and (4) whether placental species have an improved swimming performance compared to closely-related, non-placental livebearing species."
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 biological sciences evolutionary biology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine obstetrics
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
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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.
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.
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.
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-IIF
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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.
Coordinator
6708 PB Wageningen
Netherlands
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.