5A. Overview of the proposal emphasizing particularly how the proposal meets the aims of the HFSP. Read the instructions carefully. Do not exceed 10 000 characters including spaces and punctuation. Candidates with dual affiliations should specify where their part of the project will be conducted
This project will address one of the fundamental questions in biology: how animals navigate. Such a project requires cross disciplinary researchers to model the physical signals released by the earth, the structural mechanism by which animals could detect these signals and the behavioural response which we see in nature (the navigation itself). Current research has failed to reach a consensus on how animals navigate, and in particular, animals which navigate across the ocean are particularly poorly understood as they cannot use static features orient themselves.
About the CTBTO infrasound network – what has it be used for in the past?
We believe to advance our understanding of how animals navigate requires a multi-disciplinary project. The lack of current consensus on the mechanisms through which animals can navigate may result from the limitations of single discipline research and the mechanism is likely to be complex. This project will bring together geophysics, atmospheric and oceanic modelling, behavioural ecology, physiology and spatial modelling.
What does each component bring
Each researcher is integral to the project and their involvement will continue through for the duration. There are four work packages, each lead by a member of the team, and this will ensure a sustained investment by all researchers throughout. The expertise available through the international nature of the grants is not available in any single country involved, stressing the essential for intercontinental collaboration.
The combination of expertise involved in this grant results in an innovative and cutting edge research at the frontiers of the life sciences which will draw together fields of research which have never been brought together before in such a way. This is a truly blue skies project, with a high risk – high gain research plan, will push the boundaries of our understanding of navigation across the animal kingdom. It will combine extraordinary datasets which, without interdisciplinary collaboration, are inaccessible for researchers to use together.
Interdisciplinary group will bring together not only data sets, but also ideas and theories from different scientific fields, along with different ways of thinking and analysing data which would lead to very different ways of approaching scientific questions. Moreover, our team of scientists are spread across three continents which will enable us to maximise the benefits of scientific practices and strengths of different regions. Many other grant schemes limit international collaboration as financial support is limited to a single country. The HFSP research grant is unlikely placed to allow this intercontinental, international project and will break down geographical borders often imposed by other funding schemes. Our team is also gender balanced, which is in keeping with the ethos of HFSP.
Supporting four young and exciting early career researchers who have just reached independence. Will allow them each to explore novel, scientific avenues which would support the development of their research group and establish cross-disciplinary collaborations for the future. Young researchers often have new and exciting ways of viewing questions and analyses, and support during this early independence phase can lead to great scientists of the future. Funding early in a scientist’s career often acts as a catalyst to future funding and internationally importance research.
There is no other research funding opportunity that would fund this project, making HFSP uniquely places to support such research. While all participants are experts in their own field, this kind of interdisciplinary project is needed to cohesively join these experts to address one of the fundamental questions in nature.
This project is highly accessible to the general public and we will invest time and resource in the dissemination of the findings. The charismatic nature of seabirds attracts interest from the public and the concept of navigation is easy to relate to. We therefore feel that there would be both interest and excitement surrounding our findings.
The impact of the research would extend beyond the questions posed in the project.
Models – ocean and weather informed models
Instiu measures of infrasound to calibrate current models
The combination of movement modelling techniques across disciplines
Exciting and inspiring project that will captivate the general public as well as the scientific community.