Project description
A balance between urban growth and emerging diseases
With global urban populations set to surge by a billion, expanding cities threaten ecosystem services and raise zoonotic disease risks. Tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease are on the rise, exacerbated by urban sprawl and wildlife interactions. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) programme, the ZUMBBA project tackles these challenges. Focused on Barcelona, Valencia, and Toledo, it investigates the presence and spread of emerging tick-borne diseases. Tracking the movements of Parus major, the project assesses how urban biodiversity influences disease dynamics. By mapping disease hotspots and biodiversity gradients, ZUMBBA aims to enhance urban planning strategies for healthier, more resilient cities. This pioneering research seeks to balance urban growth with ecological stability, safeguarding public health amidst rapid urbanisation.
Objective
Human population in cities is expected to increase globally by 1 billion before the end of the current decade leading to a 1.2-1.8 million km2 expansion of urban areas. The planning of natural environments in cities is essential to provide a broad array of ecosystem services like mitigation of extreme weather events, clean air, and recreational opportunities. However, these benefits need to be considered together with the possible costs that may arise due to increased possibilities of human-wildlife conflicts such as those caused by the spread of zoonotic diseases. Tick-borne diseases such as Lyme disease, Mediterranean spotted fever, Q fever, and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever are major health problems forecasted to become increasingly important in Europe in the next future and require close monitoring. Birds are an effective and fast means of transport for thicks and can facilitate the spread of diseases. Most available researches sample ticks from birds and other wildlife to asses the presence absence of pathologies in natural habitats, or use spatial modeling to forecast the distribution of diseases based on bioclimatic variables. However, studies that directly trace the role of birds movements in urban areas to define gradients of risks for the local population are lacking. Additionally, it remains controversial whether higher biodiversity, by strengthening ecosystem stability and creating a dilution effect, decreases the risk of zoonosis spreading, or whether higher biodiversity may actually enhance and propel the diffusion of pathogens. The current proposal aims at testing 1) if emerging tick borne diseases are present in Spanish cities of different sizes (Barcelona, Valencia, Toledo), 2) if the movement of Parus major, a non migratory species of bird can be used to trace the distribution and spread of of tick born diseases within urban areas, 3) if the distribution and occurrence of tick born diseases covary with the levels of local biodiversity.
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.
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pathology
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health epidemiology zoonosis
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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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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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.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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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) HORIZON-MSCA-2023-PF-01
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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.
46010 Valencia
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.