PROBAE · Protect butterflies across Europe through climate refugia
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2022-08-01 → 2024-07-31
- EU contribution
- €191,149
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Protect butterflies across Europe through climate refugia
Despite accelerating climate change, our understanding of the ecology and distributions of pollinator insects remains scarce. This is problematic because while being sensitive, cold-blooded taxa, insects provide many vital services to human societies (e.g., pollination). We therefore need to identify which geographical areas will suffer the most for expected patterns in climatic change, so that we can act to protect these creatures and the services that they provide to our societies. As Europe transitions to more sustainable societies, it is important to identify regions that will allow maximizing investments in area-based conservation actions. Such goals are expected as part of recent international commitments, including the EU Pollinators Initiative and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. PROBAE set the goal of developing a framework to identify areas of conservation priority for pollinator insects across Europe, focusing on butterflies and climate change refugia (i.e., areas of predicted low impact of climate change). The framework has been developed and applied to the butterflies of Italy (Riva et al. 2023, Global Change Biology 29 (7), 1715-1728). Ongoing work will expand the application of this framework to the European continent, evaluating butterfly population trends across Europe in relation to environmental gradients and climate change exposure. No website has been developed for the project; however, a brief description of PROBAE and all papers published during the fellowship have been uploaded at https://federicoriva.github.io/riva_ecology. Future publications related to PROBAE will also be listed in this website.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Biodiversity is the essential foundation that supports prosperous human societies. Yet, current rates of human-driven changes in climate and habitats define the Anthropocene as one of the most catastrophic times for species on our planet. Reversing declines in pollinator insects, a necessary component of healthy and productive ecosystems, is a priority in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 and Pollinators Initiative. Yet, several gaps remain in our understanding of the ecology and distributions of these taxa, particularly in relation to future climatic conditions.PROBAE (PROtect Butterflies Across Europe through climate refugia) defines a novel framework to identify areas of conservation priority for pollinator insects across Europe, focussing on butterflies and climate change refugia, i.e., areas that will increase the likelihood of species’ persistence in future climatic conditions. I will use extensive spatio-temporal data on the distribution of European butterflies and novel modelling approaches to: (i) identify high-resolution hotspots of taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic diversity by integrating expert maps and monitoring data; (ii) assess if forests can increase the persistence of threatened butterflies in the face of climate change; (iii) determine which areas should be prioritized to protect climate change refugia across the EU.PROBAE synthesizes concepts from population ecology, biogeography, biodiversity science, and conservation planning. By developing this innovative project, I will train skills that will allow me to establish as an independent researcher (e.g., Bayesian hierarchical modelling, conservation biogeography, analysis of big data), while networking with leading experts in the fields of landscape ecology, macroecology, and global change biology. The outcomes of PROBAE will inform actions related to the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and contribute broadly to the Horizon 2020 objective of achieving a climate resilient future.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITE DE LAUSANNE · LAUSANNECoordinatorSwitzerland
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union