Project description
Holistically addressing microbial imbalance in mountain lakes
Dysbiosis – microbial imbalance between beneficial and potentially harmful microbes – likely plays a key role in ecosystem degradation in mountain lakes, largely driven by a warming climate, chemical pollution and over-tourism. These high-altitude aquatic ecosystems are uniquely fragile – and supply a fourth of Europe’s drinking water. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the DYHARD project aims to address this holistically. The project will leverage deep learning models and metagenomics to assess microbial community evolution, the impacts of the loss of critical beneficial microbial species and the functional roles of these key microbes. It will then propose indicators, monitoring tools, and conservation and preservation strategies.
Objective
DYHARD will tackle the growing threat of ecosystem degradation in mountain lakes, driven by the likely decline of key microbial species and their ecological functions driven by global changes. Microbes living in lake biofilms are essential for critical ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling, organic matter breakdown, water purification, and pollutant removal. These services are vital not only for ecosystem health and biodiversity, but also for human well-being—particularly since mountain lakes provide drinking water to 25% of Europe’s population—and for economic sectors that rely on water quality, such as tourism, pastoralism, and farming. The loss of these keystone microbes could lead to cascading effects, including a decline in water quality, reduced ecosystem resilience, as well as health and economic consequences. DYHARD aims to anticipate and reduce these risks by identifying the microbial taxa that play a central role in maintaining ecosystem balance and tracking how they respond to environmental pressures such as pollution and climate change. To do this, DYHARD will combine cutting-edge tools—including deep learning models and metagenomic data—to analyse how microbial communities evolve over time and to simulate the impacts of keystone species loss. DYHARD will also assess the functional roles of these microbes by linking their genetic material to key ecological processes, such as nitrogen cycling or contaminant degradation, helping identify the most vulnerable and irreplaceable functions. The project will propose indicators and monitoring tools to detect early warning signs of microbial and functional decline. It will also recommend science-based conservation and restoration strategies tailored to mountain lake ecosystems. By bridging microbial ecology, environmental management, and stakeholder engagement, DYHARD will help safeguard the ecological integrity and socio-economic value of mountain lakes facing increasing anthropogenic pressure.
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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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.
E1 4NS LONDON
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.