Project number: 101044740
Project number: BEAST - BiodivErsity dynamics Across a continuum of Space, Time, and their scales
Funded by: European Research Council (ERC)
Host institution: Czech University of Life Sciences Prague
Principal Investigator at CZU: Petr Keil
Project manager: Mgr. Kateřina Hajkova /Mgr. Emílie Trakalová/
Duration: 1.1.2023 - 31.12.2027
Budget: 1 999 363 EUR
Abstract:
This ERC-funded project (2023-2027) will estimate how has biodiversity changed across continents and over the last decades. There are concerns that humanity has triggered the sixth mass extinction. However, some studies show that change at the local level is much more nuanced. In other words, species are disappearing from the planet, but it seems that not much has been happening on an average patch behind your house. Furthermore, we know very little about how these small and large-scale processes are connected, and where exactly on Earth are they happening. At the same time, estimates of biodiversity change are needed and explicitly required (see e.g. Aichi targets) for informed decisions and conservation policy. Despite this, we still lack reliable estimates of how fast, where, and in which environments biodiversity changes. BEAST will assess these changes and the contrast between the local, regional, and global scale. We expect that the local changes in biodiversity that happen in our immediate surroundings are different from the changes that take place at the level of regions, states, and continents. This can be tested using large databases such as the American Breeding Bird Survey, eBird, and similar datasets based on citizen science. BEAST will also use new statistical methods that enable integration of heterogeneous and messy biodiversity data, and will improve estimates of biodiversity change especially in data-poor regions of the global South. Ultimately, project BEAST will reveal how multiple facets of biodiversity change across scales. It will show which regions, habitats, and biomes undergo the most pronounced change, which is critical for informed large-scale conservation policy.
Project website: https://petrkeil.github.io
CORDIS DOI: 10.3030/101044740
More info: For more information, please contact the BEAST team (beast@fzp.czu.cz or keil@fzp.czu.cz
“Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the European Research Counsil can be held responsible for them.”