Project description
Killer parasites could tame harmful algal blooms
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are rapidly growing algae populations that have toxic effects on people and marine animals. Due to increased human activities in our waterways, HABs are occurring more frequently. Most studies have focused on what triggers them, but few have looked at natural ways of controlling and stopping these blooms. The ParaDinoInt project is studying the interactions between dinoflagellates, single-celled motile algae, and parasitoids, smaller single-celled protists which parasitise dinoflagellates and kill their hosts. Scientists are comparing natural HAB-causing dinoflagellate and parasitoid populations during bloom and non-bloom conditions, investigating the cell-cell interactions between dinoflagellates and parasitoids in the lab, and modelling these interactions in order to harness nature and battle HABs in an environmentally friendly way.
Objective
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are naturally occurring seasonal algal blooms which can have major negative impacts on human activities and health in coastal areas. While the factors triggering these high biomass blooms has received much attention in the last decades, far less is known about what causes blooms to terminate. Parasitoid infection of dinoflagellates may play a major role in the termination of HABs along the Balearic and Catalan coasts; however, very little is known about the biological or the biophysical mechanisms controlling parasitoid infection in dinoflagellates, nor how prevalent parasitoids are in natural dinoflagellate populations. The focus of this project is to unravel the interactions between parasitoids and dinoflagellates and the cellular and population levels to determine how parasitoids might be used to control HABs. I will accomplish this by: (1) studying the abundance of parasitoids and dinoflagellates of natural phytoplankton assemblages during bloom and non-bloom conditions in Cala Santanyí (Mallorca); (2) conducting a series of microfluidic experiments to study the biophysics, behaviors of and interactions between individual parasitoids, host cells, and healthy dinoflagellates; (3) modeling the interactions between dinoflagellates and parasitoids to determine the concentration of parasitoids necessary to control HABs along; and, (4) validating the model results using a series of microcosm experiments. By studying the biophysical and behavioral interactions between dinoflagellates and parasitoids at both individual- and population-based scales, the long-term goal of this project is to exploit these interactions as an effective, environmentally-friendly method to control HABs near the Balearic Islands and the Catalan coast.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
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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.
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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-2019
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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.
07122 PALMA DE MALLORCA
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.