Rafel Simó, researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona (ICM-CSIC), is one of the 222 scientists who have been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in the last call, the results of which have been announced today. It is the first time that the ICM gets an ERC grant.
The ERC Advanced Grants are given to consolidated scientists for innovative research projects. This is a very competitive call; of 2,052 submitted proposals this year in all Europe, only 11% have been selected.
Rafel Simó, researcher at the Institute of Marine Sciences of Barcelona (ICM-CSIC), is one of the 222 scientists who have been awarded an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC) in the last call, the results of which have been announced today. It is the first time that the ICM gets an ERC grant.
The ERC Advanced Grants are given to consolidated scientists for innovative research projects. This is a very competitive call; of 2,052 submitted proposals this year in all Europe, only 11% have been selected.
The SUMMIT project led by Rafel Simó, which will be funded with 2.5 million euros, aims to unveil the associative behavior of microalgae and bacteria living in poor areas of the oceans.
Studying cooperation in nature
"Nature is complex. To explain it and reduce it to mathematical models, we tend to simplification", explains Simó. "We say that there are primary photosynthetic producers, herbivores, carnivores and decomposers, and those belonging in the same category compete among them. But we are discovering that evolution has also opted for more complex solutions, in which some depend on others in unexpected ways, also by cooperation, and many organisms are multitasking, so it is difficult to classify them".
Some microalgae of phytoplankton, for example, excrete substances that allow other microalgae to survive. In addition, Simó risks to predict that some predators prefer to capture microalgae affected by an excess of solar radiation or infected by viruses, which, if not predated, would have an uncertain reproductive success. "This fits with the theory of terrestrial ecology that suggests that predators maintain healthy herds by preferentially removing the weakest individuals," says Simó. The project focuses on sulfur as a key element for plankton organisms to recognize each other and benefit each other.
In the twelve calls for ERC grants since the program began in 2008, the SUMMIT project is the fourth obtained in Spain focused on environmental issues.