Objective
There are over 5000 species of mammals alive today, the vast majority of which are placentals (which give live birth to well-developed young). How did these mammals become so successful? Intrinsic and extrinsic factors may have played a role: mammals have many specialised features such as enlarged brains with a novel structure (the neocortex) that imparts heightened memory and senses, but they also were presented with the freedom to diversify after the dinosaurs went extinct at the end-Cretaceous (66 million years ago). This raises a major question that the BEMADE project will address: did large brains and keen senses help mammals survive the apocalypse that killed the dinosaurs, or did they appear later as mammals began to fill niches left empty by dinosaurs? As the rise of mammals is a textbook example of an evolutionary radiation, resolving this dilemma will give critical new insight into what drives diversification over deep time. Until now, little has been known about the brains of mammals evolving during the ~10 million years after the extinction (the Paleocene), due to the rarity of fossils and the difficulty of reconstructing the brain in extinct species. BEMADE will remedy this by subjecting 16 Paleocene mammal skulls—many of which were recently discovered by the Supervisor—to cutting edge high-resolution x-ray and neutron computed tomography (CT) scanning, which permits 3D visualization of the brain cavity and sense organs. CT data will be used to measure key features of the brain related to intelligence and senses, which will be mapped onto the mammal family tree to test hypotheses about how and when neurosensory changes occurred. This will provide an unprecedented look at how the brain and senses changed across the end-Cretaceous extinction and whether sensory changes may have been key drivers in the rise of mammals. Additionally, BEMADE will enable the Fellow to learn new techniques in neutron scanning and statistical methods for studying evolution.
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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences palaeontology
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.
EH8 9YL Edinburgh
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.