Objective
Human-commensal species are almost constantly present in our daily lives; they are the mice in our fields or the sparrows in our gardens. The evolutionary trajectories of these species are intertwined with our own through the development of agriculture and human civilization, yet we know surprisingly little about their origins.
My project, EVOSPARROW, will focus on Passer sparrows, including the House sparrow, one of the most ubiquitous commensal species. I will first use whole-genome resequencing to resolve the phylogeny of the Passer genus and provide context for the evolution of human commensalism. I will then make use of genomic data from over 120 individuals from across the Passer distribution to reconstruct the recent evolutionary history of sparrows in Europe. I will use coalescent models to test whether House sparrow migration into Europe is consistent with the introduction of agriculture during the Neolithic.
The consequences of commensal relationships have rarely been studied in an evolutionary context. Yet comparisons between commensal and non-commensal lineages offer a means to understand the phenotypic and genetic basis of adaptation to human modified niches. I will quantify behavioural and morphological phenotypes between commensal House sparrow populations and a non-commensal House sparrow lineage occurring in the Near East, as well as other non-commensal Passer species. I will then scan the genome to identify the genetic basis of these phenotypes and quantify their segregation in the wild.
With EVOSPARROW, I will develop an evolutionary framework to study how, when and dependency on the human niche arose in commensal species. Passer sparrows are the ideal system for this aim and with high-resolution genomic data, it is now possible to answer these questions. Through understanding the evolutionary origins and consequences of commensalism, I aim to also shed light on the development of our own civilization towards an agrarian society.
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 biological sciences biological morphology comparative morphology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology ornithology
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- natural sciences biological sciences biological behavioural sciences ethology biological interactions
- natural sciences biological sciences genetics genomes
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
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.
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H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
MAIN PROGRAMME
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H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
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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)
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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-2016
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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.
0313 Oslo
Norway
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.