Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/V011405/1
Phanerozoic biodiversity in space and time
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr E Saupe, University of Oxford, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr R Benson, University of Oxford, Earth Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor P Valdes, University of Bristol, Geographical Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor RJ Whittaker, University of Oxford, Geography - SoGE
- Grant held at:
- University of Oxford, Earth Sciences
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Panel C
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Palaeoenvironments
- Climate change
- Evolutionary history
- Fossil record
- Palaeoclimatology
- Palaeoecology
- Community Ecology
- Biodiversity
- Palaeoenvironments
- Fossil record
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Biodiversity
- Abstract:
- Different numbers of species are found in different regions of the globe and in different environments. The tropics house incredible numbers of species, whereas polar environments house far fewer. This pattern of decreasing number of species from the equator to the poles is referred to as the latitudinal biodiversity gradient. The spatial distribution of life on Earth is well characterised today, but we know relatively little about how spatial patterns of biodiversity have varied over millions of years, during times in which Earth's climate and continents were dramatically different to today. This knowledge gap prevents us from understanding the causes of variation in richness among regions and environments, leaving a fundamental and unanswered question at the heart of biodiversity studies. We will characterise how latitudinal biodiversity gradients in the oceans have varied during the past 545 million years, using the rich fossil record of skeletonising marine invertebrates. This will allow us to ask what environmental factors control the distribution of biodiversity among regions and environments. These deep time patterns will provide important historical context for understanding the distribution of life on Earth, yielding unprecedented insight into the generation and maintenance of marine biodiversity. It will also help us to understand the long-term effects of major shifts in climate state, such as those occurring today, on biodiversity.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/V011405/1
- Grant Stage:
- Awaiting Event/Action
- Scheme:
- Standard Grant FEC
- Grant Status:
- Active
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £619,695
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £38,538 | £234,161 | £87,923 | £65,317 | £170,507 | £20,830 | £2,420 |
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