This project is funded from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 793112.
ProtectNiche - Understanding the role of intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of loss in species niches
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The extinction of species is the most alarming consequence of global biodiversity decline, with potential dramatic effects on our economy and well-being. The current rate of climate change is predicted to further increase extinction risk, hence there is urgent need to anticipate species decline rather than reacting to it.
The breadth of a species’ niche – the set of environmental conditions in which the species can persist – is the key ecological trait that allows adaptation to environmental change, but the dynamics of niche change are often ignored in large-scale conservation applications.
The aim of the ProtectNiche project is to disentangle the impacts of humans, climate change, and life history on the climatic niches of terrestrial mammals. The goal is to inform a conservation strategy for preventing future species declines.
What's going on:
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- Mar '20 posted online the preprint of the first project's article (result of WP1)
- Jan '20 the project ProtectNiche has terminated, as I am taking up a new Tenure-Track role at Sapienza University
- Dec '19 work for WP2 started, new MSc student involved in the project
- Nov '19 updated results of WP1 now ready, time to start writing!
- Sep '19 attended two events at the European Researchers' night (Rome, Italy)
- Jul '19 attended the International Congress on Conservation Biology, with a contribution on "Intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of change in species climatic niches" (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
- May '19 meeting on "Gaining Consensus on biodiversity metrics" (UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK)
- Apr '19 nature ecoevo community blog post on #EarthDay