Objective
This project is stimulated by the ever-increasing interest to Penguins, which are an important part of Antarctic ecosystem. At present their biology is one of the hottest problems of Antarctic investigations of international community.
The main aim of the proposed study is to reach better understanding of evolutionary history and biology of Gentoo penguins (Pygoscelis papua), which belong to one of the four penguin species breeding in Antarctica. The problem of regulation of population sizes is one of the key questions in penguins' studies. The 90% of avian species were, until recently, categorised as monogamous, but applying molecular genetic methods revealed that in many species social monogamy does not result in genetic monogamy. Genetic markers will allow deep insight into gene flow in a population and reconstruction of relationship between parental and offspring generations.
The present proposal forms a part of investigations, that each participating country carries out on its traditional territories in Antarctica. The key scientific questions in evolutionary biology of Gentoo penguins will be addressed through an interdisciplinary approach by the development and refinement of hypotheses, field sampling and data collection, application of new molecular methods, data analysis and hypothesis testing.
Thus, the key problems to be solved are the problems of analysis of genetic variability and genetic structure of populations, the level of genetic diversity, problems of adaptation to Antarctic environment, the problem of changing of genetic structure of populations under ecological impact. Due to the variety of problems and scientific approaches to their solving while the project is rather interdisciplinary; the total synergistic effect of simultaneous study of different indicators and parameters of variability of populations together is expected to have greater total effect than the sum of the individual studies.
The main objectives of this project are:
1. To evaluate the level of phenotypic and genotypic variability of penguins within and between colonies. Phenotypic variability will be described by selected morphological traits, while genetic variability (average polymorphism, heterozygosity and average number of alleles per locus, deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium) - with protein and DNA markers;
2. To measure possible genotype-phenotype correlation and physiological and morphological differences between individuals with different genotypes;
3. To characterise breeding biology (egg-laying dates, clutch success, size of breeding colonies, extra-pair paternity level) and its phenotypic and genotypic covariance;
4. To investigate the genotype-dependent level of environmental impact on instability of genome and instability of individual development, with the rate of micronuclei and deviates of morphological traits (incl. fluctuating asymmetry) used as indicators.
Seven teams of experts from Ukraine (National University of Kiev - V. Bezrukov ; Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, UAS - G. Telegeev and Ukrainian Antarctic Center - G. Milinevski), and from INTAS Bulgaria (Bulgarian Antarctic Institute - R.Metcheva Institute of Molecular Biology BAS - L. Karagyozov and Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy BAS - J. Stamenov) and Switzerland(Institute of Molecular Biology, Z. U. - O. Georgiev) will carry this research at the best possible professional level.
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.
This project has not yet been classified with EuroSciVoc.
Be the first one to suggest relevant scientific fields and help us improve our classification service
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
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.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Data not available
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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.
Data not available
Coordinator
8057 Zürich
Switzerland
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.