Descripción del proyecto
Cerrar la brecha entre taxonomía y macroecología
Los aspectos clave de la ecología, desde la comprensión de la biodiversidad hasta la identificación de las dianas de conservación, dependen de cómo se clasifican los organismos. Para los ecólogos, la importancia de la taxonomía es indiscutible. Con todo, la mayoría de subdisciplinas de la ecología tratan la clasificación taxonómica de los organismos como algo estático, cuando en realidad es dinámica y está sujeta a cambios periódicos. TAXON-TIME busca cerrar la brecha entre taxonomía y macroecología. El proyecto investiga 250 años de exploraciones botánicas en bosques tropicales de África y la Amazonia y analiza los efectos de las reclasificaciones taxonómicas en los patrones macroecológicos de la diversidad vegetal. Este proyecto financiado con fondos europeos se basa en métodos de investigación con uso intensivo de datos para integrar inmensas cantidades de datos digitales de descubrimientos y reclasificaciones de especies a lo largo de la historia.
Objetivo
Few macroecologists would dispute the importance of taxonomy for their work. Yet most treat taxonomic classification as a static, although it is intrinsically dynamic and subject to periodic change. This inconsistency arises from the divergent objectives of both disciplines and hampers progress towards more robust estimates of species richness across biomes. TAXON-TIME aims to bridge the gap between taxonomy and macroecology. The project will scrutinize 250 years of botanical explorations in African and Amazonian rainforests and analyze the impacts of taxonomic reclassifications on the macroecological patterns of tree species abundance and richness. To this end, TAXON-TIME will apply cutting-edge methods of data-intensive research and integrate massive volumes of digital data of historical taxonomic discoveries and reclassifications that became available only recently. A probabilistic approach to data analysis will ensure the resulting biodiversity patterns account for the likelihood of taxonomic reclassifications across space and time. TAXON-TIME results can lead to a paradigm shift in macroecological research towards the adoption of a probabilistic, rather than deterministic, view of taxonomic reclassifications. The project is led by an Experienced Researcher (ER) with outstanding analytical and technical skills and relevant research experience on three continents. TAXON-TIME brings together an interdisciplinary team of leading scientists with complementary research skills in tropical ecology, macroecology and data-intensive research. Upon completion, TAXON-TIME will contribute to a paradigm shift in macroecology and provided the ER with an analytical toolbox tailored for the next generation of macroecologists, establishing the ER as a central actor in a unique cross-disciplinary research field, which has just began to emerge.
Ámbito científico
Programa(s)
Régimen de financiación
MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EFCoordinador
28006 Madrid
España