Project description
Marine parasites as tools for conservation and global biodiversity monitoring
Despite their tiny sizes, marine parasites serve as key ecological indicators. They are important tools for assessing marine ecosystem quality and pollution levels. Unfortunately, they have been largely ignored by researchers. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the PARABIOTIC project aims to perform monitoring activities concerning parasitic communities, especially high-level marine hosts such as elasmobranchs. Its objective is not only to understand diversity patterns or environmental alterations but also to create affordable methods that can integrate parasites in the assessment process. Focusing on marine ecosystems in Costa Rica, this project seeks to change people’s views on parasites, considering them important tools for conservation purposes.
Objective
Parasites are a neglected component of marine biodiversity, despite their crucial role in eco-evolutionary dynamics. While frequently perceived as a threat to wildlife and human health, and environmental degradation, most metazoan parasites lack zoonotic potential. Conversely, abundance and diversity of parasites, especially in high trophic-level hosts, such as elasmobranchs, are reliable indicators of trophic network health. Pioneering studies showed that these hold great promise as indicators for biodiversity
monitoring, which is a key tool for conservation, especially in this era of rapid environmental changes. Hence, the PARABIOTIC project, through an integrative systematic parasite community monitoring approach, aims to: i) Generate evidence-based knowledge for incorporating parasites into marine biodiversity monitoring; ii) Assess spatio-temporal trends in helminth biodiversity to evaluate trophic network status and threats; iii) Develop cost-effective monitoring protocols; iv) Shift stakeholder perceptions of parasites. My experience in parasites ecoepidemiology and quantitative analyses will be complemented by the extensive expertise on parasite taxonomy and ecology of Dr. Mario Santoro (SZN, Italy), and on parasite molecular taxonomy and population genetics of Dr Alicia Rojas (UCR, Costa Rica). Selecting Costa Rica as our experimental field will provide a unique opportunity to advance this research for several reasons: the country is a biodiversity hotspot, where extensive environmental and ecological data are available and continuously collected; Caribbean and Pacific coasts differ in habitat features and measurable anthropogenic pressures; an established network of collaboration among academia and stakeholders is already in place; collaboration on a similar project already exists between SZN and UCR. This research lays the groundwork for incorporating parasites into biodiversity monitoring and enhancing marine biodiversity assessments globally.
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.
You need to log in or register to use this function
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.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
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-GF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - Global Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
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
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
80121 Napoli
Italy
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.