Objective
Anthropocentric destruction of natural ecosystems, such as tropical rainforests, has created an urgent need to balance agricultural production with biodiversity. To achieve sustainability, we must manage ecosystems to prioritise both species that both maximise ecosystem support for crops (“ecosystem service species”) and those that maximise biodiversity (“keystone species”). The framework of community models offers an ideal platform for managing a balance between keystone and ecosystem service species, but two principle components remain: 1) a method for rapidly identifying key species and quantifying interactions between species, and 2) quantitative methods that can fit dynamic community models to such novel data. To overcome the first issue, I will characterize species interactions by implementing state-of-the-art diet metabarcoding, in which the prey of hundreds of animals as well as the plant taxa consumed by prey can be simultaneously identified through predator faeces. With my host at the University of Glasgow, these data will enable me to develop a step-change in food-web modelling. Using Bayesian statistical inference I will construct models in which the strength of connections among species will dynamically adapt to changes in their abundance. With species identifications from metabarcoding, I will build multi-trophic food web models of African shade cacao plantations to address three objectives: 1) identify keystone trees that maximize richness of birds and arthropods (i.e. biodiversity); 2) determine ecosystem service species that maximize predation of damaging pest arthropods and 3) identify “crossover species”: those with both ecosystem service and keystone properties. This cutting edge approach will provide an ecosystem-level understanding of factors affecting the relationship between biodiversity and agricultural production, allowing sustainable management and many further applications in agriculture, ecology, disease control and beyond.
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.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries agriculture sustainable agriculture
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics DNA
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology invertebrate zoology
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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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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 - 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.
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.
G12 8QQ Glasgow
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.