Objective
The influence of the environment that mothers provide to their offspring in addition to their genes is an important determinant of the phenotype of an organism. These maternal effects are often interpreted as an adaptive adjustment of offspring phenotype b y which the mother enhances her own fitness. Most studies demonstrate this by showing positive consequences of the maternal effect for individual offspring. However, due to sibling competition, positive effects on one offspring may go at the cost of other offspring of the same mother. Since her fitness is the total number of young produced, studies should not only focus on individual offspring but also consider all offspring produced.
The fitness consequences of maternal effects for mother and offspring will crucially depend on the mechanisms that allow mother and offspring to adjust their behaviour. This flexibility will determine in how far each of them can achieve their fitness optimum but has so far not received much attention. I will study the fitness consequences and mechanisms of maternal effects for both mothers and offspring using experimental manipulations of hormone levels in bird eggs. In theoretical models (game theory) I will analyse how the fitness consequences for mother and offspring depend upon t he flexibility they have in adjusting maternal effects. Finally I will experimentally analyse this flexibility in female birds and their offspring.
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 mathematics applied mathematics game theory
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine embryology
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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.
FP6-2005-MOBILITY-5
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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
CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
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.