Objective
Understanding the patterns and processes underlying species diversification and adaptation, the evolution of communities and biogeography is one of the fundamental goals of the biological sciences. These topics can be investigated using phylogenies. Ideally, they should be studied in all kinds of environmental situations using many taxa but until recently the phylogenies needed were too numerous and time consuming to produce. Because of this, studies have usually concentrated on single taxa or relatively simple island communities. However, single taxa are not suitable to elucidate complex interactive processes and island systems are intrinsically very different from mainland ones and do not make adequate models for them. Fortunately, recent advances in DNA technology now allow robust phylogenies to be produced rapidly and economically.
In this project, I propose to exploit these advances and my wide experience in similar projects to address a whole range of general evolutionary, ecological and biogeographic questions and to explore as many uses of phylogenies as possible using as a model the complex mainland and island communities of North Africa, Arabia and adjoining areas. This region has been selected as a test bed because the morphological alpha-taxonomy of its more than 300 reptile species is now well known and the topography of the area is appropriate for the kind of study proposed. It contains severe habitats in the form of deserts that require substantial adaptation for occupation and are divided into subunits between some of which intermittent fauna mobility appears to have been possible. There are also montane areas with distinctive faunas, and nearby continental and oceanic islands of known approximate age. Estimates of phylogeny based on morphology are already available for many groups and less frequently some DNA sequence as well.
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 biological morphology comparative morphology
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences physical sciences astronomy planetary sciences planetary geology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences physical geography
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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.
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.
FP6-2002-MOBILITY-11
See other projects for this call
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
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.