Assessing direct and indirect drivers of biodiversity decline of invertebrates

What is this call about?

The topic funds research to identify and rank the drivers of insect, mollusc and crustacean decline in Europe and turn the findings into decision-support tools for restoration. It targets research consortia working with authorities and primary producers.

What does this call fund?

Scope

The topic funds research on the direct and indirect drivers of the decline of invertebrates, especially understudied groups, across representative European terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems, to support implementation of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation.

Two areas (one to be indicated in the application)

• Area A: insects.
• Area B: molluscs and crustaceans.

Activities

• Assess and rank drivers of decline through case studies, considering cumulative impacts, interactions and different spatial and temporal scales.
• Improve attribution of causality using spatial analysis, trend analysis, modelling and other modern techniques.
• Develop methods and recommendations for replication in other settings.
• With stakeholders, provide decision-support tools for authorities to prioritise the most critical drivers in protection and restoration strategies.
• Add predictive capacity to ecosystem models, including early-warning systems and stress tests under land-use scenarios.
• Feed results into decision-support tools for primary producers whose businesses depend on ecosystem services.

Requirements

Data should be FAIR. Contributions from social sciences and humanities are required. Selected projects form a cluster with a dedicated, budgeted work package and cooperate with the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity.

Expected outcomes

Better understanding of how drivers of biodiversity decline interact, better implementation of EU biodiversity law and better-informed decisions by primary producers that depend on ecosystem services.

What are proposals expected to do?

• Each proposal should address either Area A (insects) or Area B (molluscs and crustaceans), and the area should be clearly indicated in the application.
• International cooperation is encouraged.
• Selected projects should form a cluster and are expected to take part in common networking and joint activities, included in a dedicated work package with sufficient budget.

When is the deadline?

14 January 2027 (70 days)