Project description
Understanding the role of biotic interchanges in evolutionary history
The Cenozoic era is key in the study of present-day biodiversity, since it is associated with the fundamentals of current biota. During the Cenozoic, biotic interchanges occurred in the form of invasions of species from one ecosystem to another. RECOMBINE, a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) project, proposes the study of migration, the evolutionary formation of new species and the extinction of terrestrial vertebrates at a global level, to understand how species' communities reassembled in a changing landmass environment. The training comprises the use of modern data and methods in macroevolutionary analysis and in phylogenetic inference methods. RECOMBINE will improve our understanding of biodiversity models and contribute to the fields of macroecology, macroevolution and historical biogeography.
Objective
Biotic interchanges are invasions of species from one biota to another. During the Cenozoic, tectonic and glacial dynamics led to subsequent large-scale biotic interchanges that are considered key events for shaping the current global biodiversity. Here I propose to study the migration, speciation and extinction of terrestrial vertebrates at global scale to understand the reassembly of communities as landmass connectivity changed. I will use recently available data (such as comprehensive phylogenies calibrated with the fossil record and tectonic reconstructions) with new methods in macroevolutionary analysis. I propose this MSCA as a 3-year GF. One of the most cited research groups in the study of biogeography and evolution of vertebrate diversity (ANU, Australia) will host me during the outgoing phase, where data preparation, analyses and training in macroecology will be conducted. A secondment at the beginning of the outgoing phase, and the third year of return to the host organisation (ENS, France), with a leading group in macroevolution, will be devoted to training me in phylogenetic inference methods. I will gain expertise in macroecology and macroevolution, complementing my background in community ecology, ecophysiology and phylogeography, opening up the best career possibilities for me in the fields of biodiversity research and providing new collaboration opportunities for the host organisations. As my proposed approach is novel and the questions addressed are of high concern, the MSCA is expected to provide important advances in our understanding of biodiversity patterns as well as to promote new scientific pathways in the fields of macroecology, macroevolution and historical biogeography. A series of outreach activities will also contribute to public education and awareness of the unique biodiversity that we have in every continent and how historical invasions contributed to it.
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)Coordinator
75230 Paris
France