Project description
Exploring the food-mortality trade-off
How does the relationship between boldness (the extent to which animals take risks) and food intake shape anti-predator escape responses? The EU-funded DynFish project will answer this question, shedding light on how the mechanisms of the food-mortality trade-off generate personality variation in boldness. Specifically, the project will conduct experimental work on individuals and groups of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Individuals and groups will be tested in a set-up to precisely control the behaviour of a predator model and study how escape responses vary with individual boldness, food intake and social interactions. The project will also conduct computer simulations to characterise the food-mortality trade-off. Additionally, it will explore the mechanisms underlying individual differences in boldness, and provide new insights into the evolution and maintenance of personality variation, which is common in social species.
Objective
Escape responses (reaction to a threatening stimulus) are widespread in the animal kingdom and are critical for survival in many species. In recent years, it has become apparent that individuals differ consistently from one another in their behaviour, often called ‘animal personality variation’. Boldness refers to the extent to which animals take risks, and is a major personality trait that has important ecological and evolutionary implications. While it is widely accepted that the trade-off between exposure to predation risk and the benefit gained from it (e.g. greater access to food) generates personality variation in boldness, how and why bolder individuals are more likely to be preyed upon remain to be investigated. Furthermore, personality variation is also common in social species. Despite the extensive research on collective vigilance, personality variation has rarely been considered in this context.
In this project, I will study how the relationship between boldness and food intake shapes anti-predator escape responses, shedding light on how the mechanisms of the food-mortality trade-off generate personality variation in boldness. For this purpose, I will first conduct experimental work on individuals and groups of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Individuals and groups will be tested in a setup allowing me to precisely control the behaviour of a predator model and study how escape responses vary with individual boldness, food intake and social interactions. Second, I will couple this experimental work with computer simulations to 1) fully characterise the food-mortality trade-off, 2) elucidate the mechanisms underlying individual differences in boldness, and 3) give new insights into the evolution and maintenance of personality variation under predation risk in different ecological conditions.
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.
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences mathematics applied mathematics mathematical model
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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-2019
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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.