Project description
Artificial light at night and its impacts on malaria transmission in owls
As cities expand, sensory pollutants such as artificial lighting increasingly disrupt ecological relationships. The connection with vector-borne disease in night-active wildlife has received little attention. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the UrbanLightOwl project aims to determine how nocturnal light exposure shapes interactions between owls, avian blood malaria parasites and the insects that transmit them. Leveraging a network of 200 nest boxes in various light intensities, the project will deploy observational methods alongside molecular techniques to study immune and physiological markers. Studies will shed light on the consequences of artificial light at night for owl health and reproduction and on vector-borne disease dynamics in nocturnal birds.
Objective
Urbanisation is a major driver of biodiversity loss, often by altering species interactions, including those between parasites and hosts. Birds, avian malaria parasites, and their insect vectors form a key system for studying these effects. Artificial light at night (ALAN) is recognised as an important urban sensory pollutant that significantly affects wildlife behaviour and physiology. Previous studies in diurnal birds have shown that ALAN influences avian health, infection risk, parasite load, and vector activity. However, in nocturnal species such as owls (potentially more exposed to both ALAN and malaria vectors), the role of ALAN in modulating vector-borne disease transmission remains poorly studied. This project aims to assess the impact of ALAN on host-parasite-vector interactions using the Tawny owl (Strix aluco), avian malaria parasites (Plasmodium and the related genera Haemoproteus and Leucocytozoon), and their insect vectors as a model system. Leveraging a network of 200 nest boxes across an urbanization gradient in Glasgow, I will integrate correlational and experimental approaches to 1) quantify the effect of ALAN on the health, immunocompetence and reproductive success of owls, 2) identify how ALAN modifies vector-borne pathogen infection dynamics and its synergistic impact on owls, and 3) assess the influence of ALAN on vector ecology and vector-host pathogen transmission. I will combine molecular techniques for parasite identification with physiological and immune biomarkers for health and immunocompetence assessment. This pioneering project will enhance our understanding of wildlife disease ecology in an increasingly light-polluted world, providing crucial insights into how light pollution may alter vector-borne disease dynamics in nocturnal birds, with broad implications for disease management under a One Health framework and for biodiversity conservation in urban environments.
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 health sciences infectious diseases parasitic diseases malaria
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences environmental sciences pollution
- medical and health sciences basic medicine physiology
- natural sciences biological sciences zoology entomology
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-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European 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.
G12 8QQ Glasgow
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.