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The genetic and environmental basis of migration in the marmalade hoverfly

Objective

Back-and-forth migrations of insects occur on an enormous scale, encompassing billions of individuals. Negative consequences such as the destruction of crops and the spread of diseases are well documented, yet understanding migration also offers the potential to reap enormous rewards from beneficial insects. One of the most abundant European migrants is the marmalade hoverfly, Episyrphus balteatus, a species of significant economic importance for its dual roles in protection of crops against aphids, and pollination of both crop and non-crop plants. This project addresses the fundamental scientific question of how environment and genetics control the migration of Episyrphus. It utilises state-of-the-art flight recording technology to fully characterize the migratory syndrome, and the hoverfly genome to identify the molecular determinants of migration. Unlike previous studies, it will offer mechanistic insights into the function of these molecular determinants. This has been unobtainable in other migratory models where reverse-genetics is of limited value. Hence, the results will greatly impact our understanding of animal migration, and will lay the foundations for comparative studies. This is the only approach that will offer deep scientific insights into the origin and evolution of the migratory syndrome. Finally, this research will also allow innovative approaches to improve food security and agricultural sustainability, by providing the fundamental data needed to supply forecasts of ecosystem service provision, and by offering new ways to influence the movement capabilities of economically important insects.

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.

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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)

Programme(s)

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.

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.

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

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Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

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Coordinator

ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH LTD
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 195 454,80
Address
HARPENDEN
AL5 2JQ HERTS
United Kingdom

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Region
East of England Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire Hertfordshire
Activity type
Other
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Total cost

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.

€ 195 454,80
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