Objective
The dodo, Raphus cucullatus, is an enigmatic bird endemic to Mauritius, in the Indian Ocean. This bird was discovered in 1598 and became extinct at the end of the 17th century. Being thought as a fat and stupid bird, the dodo is famous in popular culture. More importantly, the dodo is one of the first species known to have extinct because of human activity. Although it was contemporaneous with humans for decades, and extinct for only three hundred years, we know very little about its ecology. Only its taxonomy, systematics, body mass, reproductive and molting timing are known. Understanding the biology of the dodo is important because it is such an iconic example of human-induced extinction. With current concerns about biodiversity and conservation effort, it is essential to understand why some species are more prone to extinction than others which requires an understanding of all aspects of their biology. The dodo was the largest terrestrial animal in its ecosystem. Understanding of its ecology is therefore crucial to understand the Mauritius ecosystem before the arrival of humans, and to estimate the real impact of human activity on this island. I hereby propose to study the ecology of the dodo, including diet, locomotion, and population structure. To these ends, I propose to apply a novel multi-angle combination of scientific methods. The diet will be studied using a geochemical analysis of carbon isotopes, a Finite Element Analysis on the skull and the jaw, and a morpho-functional study of the skull and jaw musculature. Mode of locomotion will be estimated with the method published by Storer and the new method published by Angst et al. We will estimate the structure of the population using bone histology, which allows discrimination of females from males, and juveniles from adults. All these methods applied to the dodo will be applied in parallel on a large sample of modern and other sub-fossil or fossil birds, including the Columbiformes and the Solitaire.
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.
- social sciences sociology social issues social inequalities
- medical and health sciences health sciences nutrition
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences biological sciences histology
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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.
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.
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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.
(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
BS8 1QU BRISTOL
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.