GENETIC, BEHAVIOURAL, AND DEMOGRAPHIC CONSEQUENCES OF LONG-TERM HYBRIDIZATION IN SAVANNA BABOONS

Objective

The process and consequences of hybridization are of interest to evolutionary biologists because of the importance of hybridization in understanding reproductive isolation, speciation, and the influence of introgression on population genetic structure. Although many instances of naturally occurring hybridization in primates have now been documented, we still lack a holistic understanding of how hybridization impacts individual life-histories in the short term, and population and species evolution in the long term. The goal of the proposed project is to address this gap by gaining a detailed understanding of the genetic, behavioural, and demographic consequences of hybridization in the well-studied wild Amboseli baboon population in particular and across the boundary of the southern Kenyan baboon hybrid zone as a whole. To properly realize this project I will compute long-term data on life-histories, behaviour, and mate choice already available on one of the best known wild primate populations and I will combine these data with environmental data collected through GIS analyses and with genetic data collected non-invasively from over a thousand of individuals (around 730 have already been collected) located throughout the yellow-anubis hybrid zone. The originality of this project lies in the investigation of the effects of hybridization on multiple scales: the individual baboon (effects of hybridity on individual life-history traits), the population (population genetic structure), and the meta-population (genetic differentiations between baboon populations). The results of this research will serve as a model for how hybridization can influence the population dynamics and evolution of primate species.

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.

• natural sciences biological sciences zoology mammalogy primatology
• natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences physical geography cartography geographic information systems

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

• FP7-PEOPLE - Specific programme "People" implementing the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities (2007 to 2013)

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.

• FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG - Marie Curie Action: "Reintegration Grants"

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

FP7-PEOPLE-IRG-2008
See other projects for this call

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.

MC-IRG - International Re-integration Grants (IRG)

Coordinator