Project description DEENESFRITPL How birds in the Amazon survive sublethal exposure to mercury Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is found in the air, water and soil. Exposure to mercury (even small amounts) may cause serious health problems, and it is a threat to the development of the child in utero and early in life. The World Health Organization considers mercury one of the top 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern. The EU-funded AMAZON_MERCURY project will study the impact of human-induced environmental pollution of mercury that bioaccumulates in aquatic ecosystems and causes neurological, physiological, immunological and reproductive damage to wildlife. Specifically, it will focus on the evolutionary changes induced by long-term exposure to mercury pollution in wild populations of important avian bio-indicators in the Amazon using powerful advanced genomic analyses. Show the project objective Hide the project objective Objective Anthropogenically-induced environmental pollution has had a dramatic influence on the natural world, including worldwide decreases in species richness and abundance, ecosystem homogenization, genomic modifications, and altered nutrient cycles. Particularly, human-induced environmental pollution of mercury can bioaccumulate in aquatic ecosystems and cause neurological, physiological, immunological and reproductive damage to wildlife, making it both a European, and global threat. However, the evolutionary impact of long-term exposure to mercury has yet to be studied despite evidence that exposure to mercury can negatively affect survival. Avian piscivores and insectivores, important bioindicators in highly diverse aquatic ecosystem, can be ideal for studying mercury impacts. This project will investigate the evolutionary changes induced by long-term exposure to mercury pollution in wild populations of important avian bioindicators in the Amazon using powerful advanced genomic analyses. It combines the latest Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) methods with avian ecology and evolution, ecotoxicology, immunology and endocrinology, to generate new insights into the costs of environmental pollution, and the subsequent adaptations that allow for species to survive sublethal exposure to mercury. In order to document long-term changes, historical specimens will be used to assess past genomic variation and mercury levels to be used as a baseline against which differentiating selection patterns are searched. The results will reveal the effects of anthropogenic change on important avian bioindicators and identify the missing link between causative mechanisms and phenotypes, thereby availing these methods for further research. By capitalizing on the development and application of cutting-edge genomics techniques, these findings can identify adaptive and susceptive genotypes to indicate whether selection allows for the survival of species in the face of acute environmental change. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesgeneticsnatural scienceschemical sciencesinorganic chemistrytransition metalsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesenvironmental sciencespollutionnatural sciencesbiological sciencesecologyecosystemsnatural sciencesearth and related environmental scienceshydrologylimnology Keywords rapid evolution adaptation heavy metals pollution anthropogenic impact epigenetics 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 KOBENHAVNS UNIVERSITET Net EU contribution € 286 921,92 Address Norregade 10 1165 Kobenhavn Denmark See on map Region Danmark Hovedstaden Byen København Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments 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 Other funding € 0,00 Partners (1) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all Partner Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement. THE REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA United States Net EU contribution € 0,00 Address Franklin street 1111 12 floor 94607 Oakland ca See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments 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 Other funding € 177 265,92
