Project description DEENESFRITPL Caring for birds flying from wintering and breeding grounds The EU is home to over 500 wild bird species. Urban sprawl has reduced bird habitats and intensive agriculture has diminished food supplies. Migratory birds, which travel back and forth between breeding grounds and wintering places, are declining in numbers. The EU-funded TesSEH project will develop a novel, integrated approach to quantify the true energetic costs in the natural environment across a continuum of flight strategies. It will also calibrate metabolic costs under controlled settings to transform the research field of energetics. The findings will significantly contribute to biogeographic theory and boost our understanding of energetically efficient physiological traits. The project will ultimately revolutionise avian energetic models. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Migration is a key life-history stage for many avian species and underpins the distribution of biodiversity on Earth. The species-energy hypothesis states that energetics underlies spatial- and temporally-specific patterns; yet the energetic balance for free-flying migratory species is poorly understood due to the inherent difficulties in studying individuals across vast geographic scales. To date, it has not been possible to obtain a field-derived metric of energetics in passerines let alone relate it to the environmental energetic conditions experienced. Major advances at the MPI-AB in the miniaturisation of heart-rate loggers, and the launch of ICARUS tracking technology with high spatio-temporal resolution, will now enable unique insights into energetically costly flight behaviour over the full annual cycle. By filling a technological and a conceptual gap, the ER will be the first to develop a novel, integrated approach to quantify the true energetic costs in the natural environment across a continuum of flight strategies, and calibrate metabolic costs under controlled settings to transform the research field of energetics. Empirically-derived data, resulting from this action, will be used to test if the species-energy relationship is applicable to the vast majority of small songbirds which change their distribution in response to seasonal variation in conditions and resources. Furthermore, this will enable the development of a tool to refine flight performance models and determine the response of this biological system to climate change. It will permit explicit testing of the species-energy relationship under seasonally specific environmental conditions, with a unique approach of incorporating energetic demands into the system. Cumulatively, fulfilling the objectives of TesSSEH, will significantly contribute to biogeographic theory, develop our understanding of energetically efficient physiological traits and revolutionise avian energetic models. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changessocial sciencessociologydemographyhuman migrations Keywords Avian Migration Telemetry Flight performance Energetics Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Main Programme H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility Topic(s) MSCA-IF-2019 - Individual Fellowships Call for proposal H2020-MSCA-IF-2019 See other projects for this call Funding Scheme MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF) Coordinator MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV Net EU contribution € 162 806,40 Address HOFGARTENSTRASSE 8 80539 Munchen Germany See on map Region Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Total cost € 162 806,40
