Project description
Assessing species’ vulnerability to climate change
How, how much, why, when and where are species affected by climate change? The answers to these questions are key to assessing the vulnerability of a species to climate change. This is the first step in developing conservation strategies. The EU-funded VULNERAWEB project aims to improve current forecasts by applying the concepts of thermal death curve (TDC) and voluntary thermal maximum (VTM). TDC represents all possible combinations of temperature and time. VTM represents a temperature objectively identified by organisms as stressful. The findings of preliminary analyses suggest that these tools increase the power of produced forecasts. The project will also create an online platform to guide the collection and curation of relevant data and to engage experts in climatic vulnerability worldwide.
Objective
Reliable Forecasts of species’ Climatic Vulnerability (FCV) are key to attain objectives in the horizon 2020 program. However, the complexity of FCV, and the massive amount of data needed for it, defy current approaches and data availability. State-of-the-art forecasts use measures of species’ thermal tolerance and of their ability to avoid overheating environments. Still, these models rely on two central premises. First, that a single combination of temperature and time of exposure will induce population declines. Yet, myriads of combinations of temperature and time of exposure can actually kill the individuals of a population. A second premise is that known parameters of thermal tolerance can identify thermal limits for the geographic distribution of species. Finally, whether these premises are true or not, most species lack the data needed to model their vulnerability to climate change.
During this project, I will apply, for first time, the concepts of the Thermal Death Curve (TDC) and the Voluntary Thermal Maximum (VTM) to improve forecasts. The TDC represents all the potential combinations of temperature and time that causes population damage and the VTM represents a temperature objectively identified by the organisms as stressful. My preliminary analyses have shown that these tools multiply the power of produced forecasts and prevent dramatic biases introduced by more traditional parameters. Secondly, I will test, on a global scale, whether the known limits of animal’s geographic distributions are set by known measures of their thermal tolerance. Finally, to channel global efforts to the collection of the necessary species data and the generation of robust forecast, I will create an online platform to engage experts in climatic vulnerability world-wide through an action-reward system. This web platform will guide the collection and curation of relevant data, and deliver FCV using the best models available and international expert advice
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 earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
You need to log in or register to use this function
We are sorry... an unexpected error occurred during execution.
You need to be authenticated. Your session might have expired.
Thank you for your feedback. You will soon receive an email to confirm the submission. If you have selected to be notified about the reporting status, you will also be contacted when the reporting status will change.
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.
-
H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme -
H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
See all projects funded under this programme
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)
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
28006 MADRID
Spain
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.