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The consequences of temperature-resource interactions for the future of marine phytoplankton communities

Objective

Temperature, nutrients and light drive the growth of phytoplankton, aquatic photosynthetic microbes responsible for nearly half of global primary production. Because phytoplankton influence global biogeochemical cycles, carbon sequestration and climate, accurately modelling their growth is vital to forecasting our future. However, the models we use for global ecosystem forecasts do not consider how these factors interact, even though the interactions lead to qualitative and quantitative differences in outcomes. My goal is to therefore build a mechanistic understanding of how temperature and resources interact to influence phytoplankton growth, productivity and biogeochemical cycles.


This project has three objectives (i) develop statistical models describing how phytoplankton growth changes as a joint function of temperature, nutrients and light, (ii) develop mechanistic models characterising how temperature and resources influence cellular processes in phytoplankton, and ultimately their growth, and (iii) implement dynamic versions of the mechanistic model to forecast how marine phytoplankton communities will respond to future changes in temperature, resources and predation.

My work will involve applying machine learning techniques to published laboratory and field datasets to understand complex interactions between the three factors. By combining this understanding with insights from ecological theory, I will generate an accurate mechanistic model of growth, and then test the power of this model to predict patterns in the ocean using independent field datasets. Finally, I will use the validated mechanistic model to forecast changes to global patterns in phytoplankton growth and primary productivity.

This project will enable us to generate credible forecasts of phytoplankton productivity and biogeochemical cycles in a warming ocean, and improve our understanding of fundamental ecological processes by uniting major fields of ecological theory.

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: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.

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Programme(s)

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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.

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.

MSCA-IF-EF-ST - Standard EF

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Call for proposal

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

(opens in new window) H2020-MSCA-IF-2017

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Coordinator

DANMARKS TEKNISKE UNIVERSITET
Net EU contribution

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.

€ 212 194,80
Address
ANKER ENGELUNDS VEJ 101
2800 Kongens Lyngby
Denmark

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Region
Danmark Hovedstaden Københavns omegn
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost

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.

€ 212 194,80
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