Project description
Uncovering the hidden threats to Europe’s birds
Avian haemosporidian parasites pose a major One Health problem since they affect not only wildlife and ecosystems but also livestock on a global scale. Although haemosporidians are very common, conventional studies fail to address the deadly effects of their cryptic tissue life cycle stages. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the MorPreDiv project aims to conduct an unprecedented study of mortality rates and spillovers within an incredibly wide variety of bird species in Europe. The goal of the project, which will analyse blood samples and deceased birds, is to reveal the processes of interaction and co-evolution between the parasite and the host. As such, the findings will help pave the way for an essential paradigm shift in avian epidemiology.
Objective
Haemosporidians (protists) are widespread vector borne parasites that infect different vertebrate hosts, including humans and birds. Avian haemosporidians are globally distributed and classified in three main genera, Plasmodium, Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon. They are of One Health, veterinary and economic importance, with spillovers between wildlife and livestock or non-native birds in zoos or aviaries. Their prevalence and diversity are usually estimated through the presence of gametocytes (erythrocytic stages) in blood smears and their molecular investigations (barcoding region in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene), mainly in bird species that are caught by mist nests. However, this does not reflect the true prevalence and effect of these parasites, as many bird species are under-sampled and tissue stages, which can and do cause mortality, are under-studied. This project will understand the scale of mortality associated with infection status and spillover dynamics of haemosporidian parasites in European passerine and non-passerine birds. First, I will investigate a wide spectrum of bird species for the presence and diversity of the parasites and test mechanism of co-evolution with their hosts, using collected blood samples and tissue samples obtained from collaborators. Second, I will use the carcasses of common bird species dead from natural causes and collected by our collaborators to investigate the tissue stage development of the parasites, their prevalence, and effects on birds. These will result in a step change in our understanding of the epidemiological and pathological implications of avian haemosporidian infections, through the newly uncovered host-parasite interactions, and help conservation and management of bird populations.
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.
- social sciences sociology demography mortality
- natural sciences biological sciences evolutionary biology
- agricultural sciences animal and dairy science domestic animals animal husbandry
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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)
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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
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-2025-PF
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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.
ST5 5BG KEELE
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.