Project description
Cave bears: testing the causes of their extinction
Cave bears inhabited Europe and Asia thousands of years ago. With a focus on these prehistoric species of bear, the EU-funded RESOURCEFUL project will investigate the effect of the interplay of behaviour and population structure on extinction risk in species that depend on geographically fixed resources. To do this, it will combine theoretical population modelling with palaeogenomics. The project's work will lead to the development of a spatially explicit computational model of cave bear populations and a population-level sample of contemporaneous Romanian cave bear genomes, helping to pave the way for a greater understanding of the effect of human competition for caves on cave bear extinction.
Objective
This MSC Action will investigate the interplay of behaviour, climate, and human pressure on species extinction, using a highly interdisciplinary approach uniting theoretical population modelling with palaeogenomics. This MSC Action will investigate the interplay of behaviour and population structure on extinction risk in species that rely on geographically fixed resources. It will focus on long extinct cave bears by utilising a highly interdisciplinary approach uniting theoretical population modelling with palaeogenomics to test the causes of their extinction. The host organisation, Prof. Manica’s UCAM Group, is a world-leading research group in population genetics and modelling. I will be provided with training and development opportunities that allow me to build a spatially explicit computational model of cave bear populations that use multiple caves for hibernation. Development of my existing knowledge of palaeogenomics during secondment in Dr. Barlow’s TNTU Lab will allow me to assemble a population level sample of contemporaneous Romanian cave bear genomes to further refine the model based on empirical data. Finally, this refined cave bear population model will allow, for the first time, a detailed and statistically robust assessment of the effect of human competition for caves on cave bear extinction. This MSC Action provides numerous opportunities for my training and personal development, by locating myself in the world-leading UCAM Group, attendance of five formal training courses, and further opportunities during the secondment and visits to other labs. It will result in internationally significant research outputs that will be disseminated to the scientific community via publications and presentations, as well as to different target audiences via public engagement, media and teaching activities. Moreover, it will provide numerous vital steps towards my ultimate career goal of establishing a world-leading research group within the field of palaeogenomics
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.
This project's classification has been human-validated.
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's classification has been human-validated.
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-2020
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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.
CB2 1TN CAMBRIDGE
United Kingdom
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.