Project description
Tracing our shared history with ants through time.
For over 12 000 years, human activity (from early farming to global trade) has reshaped ecosystems. Yet while we have tracked the journeys of crops and livestock, little is known about how tiny co-travellers like ants responded to our movements. Ants, vital for ecosystems but sometimes destructive, have followed humans across time and terrain. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the AntTRAILS project dives into this overlooked history, focusing on the Mediterranean. By combining genomics, spatial ecology, and museum specimens, researchers will trace how human migrations, agriculture, and climate shifts have shaped ant biodiversity. This approach sheds light on how we can protect native species and manage invasive ones in the face of ongoing global change.
Objective
It is well-established that our species has profoundly shaped biodiversity, and irremediably altered biogeographic boundaries, following human migrations, technological advances and trade. Still, it remains unclear whether this represents a recent phenomenon only, or has been ongoing since the onset of farming, ~12,000 years ago. Many domestic and commensal species that spread with early farmers have today become integral to our daily lives, but less is known about non-model species providing ecosystem services such as ants. Ants were and are a dominant force in ecosystems where human societies developed, undoubtedly representing one of the strongest invaders linked to our historical practices. While they play vital roles in the environment, ants can also have harmful impacts on local habitats, human health and the economy. AntTRAILS will thus explore the history that we share with ants in the Mediterranean region, by investigating how one of the most widespread and synanthropic ant groups in the region responded to human-induced environmental changes over millennia. Integrating morphometry and whole genome sequencing I will first delimit the number of native cryptic species in the region, to subsequently uncover their ancestral distribution range. I will then combine cutting-edge methodologies in population genomics and spatial ecology to reveal how farming, historical trade, and human migrations altered ant biodiversity since the Neolithic Revolution. Comparing historical genomes retrieved from museum specimens to modern ant genomes, I will finally explore the most recent effects of globalisation and climate change on both native and invasive ant species. AntTRAILS will therefore map the anthropogenic impact across space and time, offering insights that will inform strategies for preserving biodiversity and managing invasive species in a rapidly changing world.
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 ecology ecosystems
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences atmospheric sciences climatology climatic changes
- social sciences other social sciences development studies development theories global development studies globalization
- social sciences sociology demography human migrations
- 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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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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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
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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10115 Berlin
Germany
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