Mikkel Brydegaard draws on his experiences from electrical engineering and atomic physics to develop laser diagnostic tools for new insights into the ecology and diversity of insects.
By combining biophotonics (i.e. light interaction with biological tissue) with lase remote sensing for environmental monitoring, his group makes an effort to study living organisms in their natural surroundings, rather than bringing them into laboratories and vacuum chambers. The prospects are rapid evaluation for abundance and diversity of mitigations such as flower strips or restored wetlands. Whereas the present methods for counting and classification of insect require tremendous resources and time, his methods can currently count a hundred thousand insects per day and distinguish hundreds of classes.
Within his new ERC grant HyperSense, his group will develop four new prototypes of hyperspectral lidar (or laser radar). Currently lidar systems typically have a single or a couple of wavelengths. His new concept can provide lidar with hundreds of spectral bands which can be used to deduce micro-, nano- and pico-scopic details of biological targets. Applications include classification of pollen on bees, virus in insects, hair growth on mosquitoes, navigation of midges and diversity of zooplankton.
Andreas Nord will study how warm-blooded animals are affected as the climate becomes warmer and more unpredictable.
As part of the project, he will study different species of birds to determine how quickly heat tolerance could evolve and what will happen to our bird populations if tolerance fails to adapt. In the final part, Nord plans to conduct a common-garden experiment with birds from southern Europe and northernmost Scandinavia to test whether the process underlying heat adaptation differ in the north and south, and whether directional selection for heat resilience is already taking place in nature.
Combining traditional ecological and animal physiology techniques with modern genetic modification, Andreas Nord’s project will cover the full range of organismal organisation, from genomics and cellular functions to whole animals. At the end of the action, the project will have painted the most comprehensive picture of the physiological responses of birds in a warmer world to date. This knowledge can provide important guidelines for prioritising the management of protected areas, natural resources, and threatened animal populations, and can also be exploited by industry to improve food security.
- By the end of the project, I hope to be closer to answering three critical questions: whether, and how quickly, birds can become better at handling heat, what happens if they can't, and whether there is already ongoing directional selection towards improved heat tolerance in the wild. The project will also create two new animal models to study birds and heat, which I believe will benefit the research field for many years to come,” says Andreas Nord.
Five Lund University researchers were rewarded the ERC Consolidator Grants. Learn more about who they are and their projects on the link below:
Five Lund University researchers to receive ERC Consolidator Grants | Lund University
