Objective
Since the 1930s, the unique endemic aquatic biota of the Caspian-Black Sea region is facing a biodiversity crisis as it is severely affected by anthropogenic activities such as habitat destruction, invasive species and pollution. Understanding long-term natural biotic and abiotic drivers of lake system change and biotic response to perturbations in the past 2 Ma – i.e. gradual, rapid and/or threshold responses – is absolutely necessary to assess the current response of Pontocaspian biota to rising natural- and human-induced perturbations. The Pontocaspian example mirrors the complex global ecological and biodiversity challenge due to Global Change. This challenge can only be addressed through an integrated cross-disciplinary research involving climate, earth- and bio-sciences. PRIDE (Pontocaspian biodiversity RIse and DEmise) is a fully integrated academia-industry training network of scientists with complementary cutting-edge competences. PRIDE focuses on the evolution of Pontocaspian biota over the past 2 million years. The extraordinary endemic biodiversity, coupled with a high-amplitude record of palaeoenvironmental change, makes it an ideal system to study drivers of past and current biodiversity crises. By linking Pontocaspian palaeoenvironmental and biodiversity changes we will reconstruct biological resilience to environmental change and apply this knowledge to the current Pontocaspian biodiversity crisis to model future diversity shifts under different Global Change scenarios. PRIDE will provide outstanding interdisciplinary technical training, new skills acquisition and career development for 15 early stage researchers. An innovative outreach plan will deliver our results to stakeholders and the public. PRIDE results from existing, successful collaborative relationships and will expand to include 17 first-class private and academic geological and biological institutions allowing Europe to remain world-leading in integrated studies of biodiversity change.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Call for proposal
H2020-MSCA-ITN-2014
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
MSCA-ITN-ETN - European Training NetworksCoordinator
2333CR Leiden
Netherlands
Participants (9)
35390 Giessen
11341 Bucuresti
3584 CS Utrecht
2353 TA Leiderdorp
Participation ended
UB8 3PH Uxbridge
BS8 1QU Bristol
RG6 6AH Reading
050663 Bucuresti
28359 Bremen
Partners (7)
CB3 0DH Cambridge
60325 Frankfurt
20070 Denizli
01601 Kyiv
119992 Moscow
119991 Moscow
AZ1143 Baku
