STSM - Conservation of Freshwater Mussels: Pan-European Approach

The 7th call for STSM is closed.

The Core Group of the CONFREMUS COST Action has closed the 7th call for STSMs proposals. The accepted grants are listed at the bottom of the page.

Deadline: 15th January 2023.

The details are described below.

STSM rules

Short Term Scientific Missions (STSMs) are exchange visits aimed at supporting individual mobility, strengthening existing networks, and fostering collaboration between COST Action Participants. A STSM should specifically contribute to the scientific objectives of the COST Action, whilst at the same time allowing those partaking in the missions to learn new techniques, gain access to specific data, instruments or methods not available in their own institutions or organisations.

The focus on the call, which aims to be widely inclusive, is on researchers with emphasis on early career scientists¹. Proposals must be in line with the objectives of one or various of the four Working Groups of the CONFREMUS. Applicants are invited to get acquainted with the objectives of the Action as a whole and each of the WGs by reading the COST Action MoU available here.

STSM grantees must make their own arrangements for all provisions related to personal security, health, taxation, social security and pension matters.

For this call, the Core GRoup of Management Committee of CONFREMUS has decided to allocate a budget of up to 10 000 €.

Potential hosts for STSM applicants.

Herewith you can find announcements of potential hosts for STSMs (the list is not exhaustive):

STSM host Mill of Kalborn (Luxemburg) – click here

Timeframe for this STSM call

Deadlines for applications: to be submitted till 15th January 2023.

Notification of applications outcomes: 14 days after the closing the call.

Period of STSM: All STSM activities must occur in their entirety until 1th September 2023.

Report submitted: up to 30 days after STSM completion.

Specific information concerning STSMs under CONFREMUS

STSMs must have a minimum duration of 5 days and a maximum duration of 90 days.

The financial support from the COST Action is a contribution to the overall expenses incurred during the STSM and may not necessarily cover all of the associated outgoings.

The following funding conditions apply and must be respected:

Up to a maximum of 3500 € in total can be awarded to each successful STSM applicant.
The requested total amount of grant must be estimated by the applicant based on daily allowances of maximum 160 € per day (which might be reduced in order to elongate duration of STMS) and a maximum of 1200 € for traveling expenses (depending on the distance to cover).
The amounts granted for each individual STSM will be determined during the evaluation process by the Core Group of the CONFREMUS – see below.
Pre-payment (only for representatives of COST Inclusiveness Target Countries (ITCs)) will be transferred to Grantee account after Grant Holder will receive confirmation from the Host, that Grantee has arrived to the Host location. Confirmation of arrival should be send by Host to: tzajac@iop.krakow.pl, CC: lipinska@iop.krakow.pl.

Financial support is paid in the form of a grant after the submission of a STSM report, once the STMS is completed and in accordance to the provisions stated in section “Final report” and accepted by STSM coordinator, the Core Group and finally by Chair of the Management Committee.

Application rules

Eligible applicants

Individuals, including researchers and especially early career investigators. STSM applicants must be engaged in an official research programme as a MSc student, PhD Student or postdoctoral fellow or can be employed by, or affiliated to, an institution, organisation or legal entity which has within its remit a clear association with performing research.

The necessary formal requirement is a completed e-COST profile.

STSM applicants should come from any of the COST Full Member or COST Cooperating Member country, which are members of the CONFREMUS COST Action (for explanation of terms see the COST Vademecum).

The institutions / organizations or legal entities, where applicants pursue their main professional activities, are considered as Home Institutions. The Host Institution is the institution / organisation that will host the successful applicant. The Host institution may be located in another COST Full / Cooperating / Partner Member country, participating in the Action CONFREMUS. Preference will be given to Early Career Investigators¹ (ECI, for explanation see the COST Vademecum) and to those and other scientists from Inclusiveness Target Countries², however, securing gender balance.

Application procedure

All applicants must carefully read the rules detailed in STSM Section of the COST Vademecum.
All applicants must register for an e-COST profile adding their bank account details to their profile, as requested.
The applicant must obtain a letter of invitation from the Host Institution confirming that they can undertake the STSM on the given dates prior to submitting an application.
The applicant must visit e-COST https://e-services.cost.eu/stsm, choose “Grant Application” from the menu on the left, then tick “Apply for grant”, then choose STSM panel (tick “Continue”), fill-in the fields with your personal information. IMPORTANT: first choose proper COST Action, then at Grant Period choose AGA-CA239-3, otherwise you will not be able to encode the proper dates of the STSM.
In the next panel, you can download Grant application template, complete it, submit and download the STSM application online. The applicant must send their STSM application form submitted to e-COST (pdf) and the relevant supporting documents (see below) to prof. Jouni Taskinen, STSM Coordinator (jouni.k.taskinen@jyu.fi) and copied to prof. Tadeusz Zając, MC chair(tzajac@iop.krakow.pl)

The list of supporting documents to be submitted in pdf format for the evaluation are:

(a) The submitted STSM application form (downloadable on e-COST or here): before completing the form be sure, that it clearly gives an overview of the aims of proposed activities, highlighting their contribution to the scientific objectives of CONFREMUS (proposed plan of work should be consulted with the Host Institution in advance), and why it is important for the applicant and his scientific work; an example of a correctly completed form can be found here.

(b) A letter of support from the Home Institution (downloadable);

(c) Letter of invitation to the applicant from a senior researcher affiliated to the Host Institution, with the written agreement from the Host Institution that the STSM applicant can perform the activities detailed in the STSM work plan on the agreed dates (downloadable);

(d) A Full C.V. (downloadable); including a list of academic publications – if applicable.

The names of the files submitted must allow the reader to identify the type of the document and should contain: name of the applicant_type of the document, e.g. Myname_report; Myname_CV etc. If the applicant submits more than one STSM grant proposal, they should be identified by place or the period, e.g. Myname_report_Croatia. The applications which do not conform to these rules will be declined, with possibility of re-submitting.

Applications for STSM grants MUST be written in English, submission of the documents in national languages will cause decline of the submission. If the grant application contains text copied from any other STSM application (including own) it will be declined without possibility of resubmission.

Pay special attention on planning dates of the STSM – they should be the same as the dates of the invitation by the host and listed in letter of support from your home institution.

Eligible STSM applicants must submit their STSM applications online here.

In the system, you will create a new STSM Request. Fill in the online form:

The following additional information should be provided:

Home Institution
the Action Number (CA18239)
STSM Title (indicating relation of mission to CONFREMUS)
The STSM visit should end before September 15th, 2022).
Motivation and workplan summary, with:
- Abstract (max 200 words);
- Aim & motivation (max 400 words): explain why you are applying for the STSM;
- Outcomes (max 300 words): describe the expected results to be accomplished during or as a result of the STSM;
- Integration with the COST action (max 300 words): describe the contribution of the proposed STSM to the scientific objectives of the Action;
- Techniques (max: 400 words): describe what techniques or equipment you want to learn (if applicable);
- Planning (max 300 words): The plan to achieve the proposed objectives;
- References: up to 5 most relevant.
Bank Details
Host details (Name, e-mail, institution details)
Requested financial support:
- up to 3500€.
- Note: Up to a maximum of EUR 160 per day can be afforded for accommodation and meal expenses.

Evaluation

The Core Group announces the collection date of proposals on the web site. The evaluation of each received STSM application is performed by the Action Core Group (leaders of Working Groups, STSM coordinator, Grant Coordinator, Information Officer and MC chair).

The CONFREMUS Core Group, which will perform the scientific and budgetary assessment of the applications against the perceived contribution that the proposed visit will make against the scientific objectives outlined in the CONFREMUS objectives as indicated above.

Evaluation criteria:

Scientific quality of the proposal (scientific level of the project and how it is correlated to the aims of the Action) – weight 2;
Technical feasibility (is the host equipment or technical knowledge required for the completion of a project, length of the STSM) – weight 1;
In case of proposals with equal scientific quality and technical feasibility, priority is given to (1) young researchers and ECIs, (2) researchers affiliated in institutions in COST Inclusiveness Target Countries and (3) proposals equalizing gender balance.

Then the proposal is verified against formal integrity (dates, places, file names, concordance with CONFREMUS aims) and budget allocated to the call. If any inconsistencies will be identified the proposal can be called for resubmission or rejected without the possibility of resubmission (see above). If proposal will be finally accepted by the chair, applicant will be notified within 14 days after submission deadline and list of accepted grants will be listed in confremus.eu web site (see below). Those not successful may revise and resubmit their applications for upcoming collection dates (see section deadlines).

For the sake of information and transparency, the accepted proposals will be also send to the Management Committee members for their information.

Final report

The candidate will have to submit the Final Report, within 30 days after the end of the STSM, not later than 30 Sep.2022 in the case of autumn calls, including:

Scientific report (click here to download template);
Host approval of the report – confirming that the STSM took place and the work plan goals were achieved.

The example of properly written report can be found here.

Both documents can be upload directly into the e-COST portal. Photos from the visit in the report file are welcomed.

The payment of the grant can only be made after the approval of this report. Failure to submit the scientific report within 30 days from the end date of the STSM will effectively cancel the grant. (Please note that the COST Association can request additional information to substantiate the information contained within the documents submitted by STSM applicants). The applicant is also responsible for acquiring an official acceptance letter / e-mail confirmation of acceptance from a senior researcher affiliated to the Host Institution formally accepting the scientific report. This formal acceptance of the scientific report has to be sent within that same period of 30 days after STSM is over, to the Grant Holder and vice Chair of the Management Committee of CA18239 CONFREMUS, Dr. Manuel Lopes-Lima (lopeslima.ciimar@gmail.com) and to prof. Jouni Taskinen (jouni.k.taskinen@jyu.fi) for archiving and dissemination purposes. Report will also be send to Management Committee members for their information and general transparency.

Additional information

For more information about the STSM application procedure, see the COST Vademecum.

Accepted applications are listed below:

STSM proposals accepted in the January 2023 call:

Reference	Applicant Name	Title	Country of applicant	Applicant Primary Institution	Host	Time
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-209d18e1	Manuel Lopes Lima	CONFREMUS – BUILDING A NETWORK OF EXCELLENCE FOR THE CONSERVATION OF EUROPEAN FRESHWATER MUSSELS	Portugal	CIBIO/InBIO – Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources	FMCS meeting, Portland, USA (dissemination grant)	10.04.2023-14.04.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-38a564d6	Liliya Bylyna	Study of the reproduction processes of Sphaerium rivicola Lamarck, 1818 (Mollusca, Bivalvia, Pisidiidae) in the Hnylopyatka River	Ukraine	Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University zu.edu.ua	IOP PAN, Kraków, Poland	27.02.2023-12.03.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-5f8ad15b	Noé Ferreira Rodríguez	Traditional ecological knowledge of freshwater mussels in Romania	Spain	Universidade de Vigo	University Ovidius din Constanta, Constanta, Romania	24.04.2023-07.05.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-7a2475a0	Sebastian Rock	Margaritifera margaritifera as a host to parasites, and a parasite on hosts	Sweden	Karlstad University	University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland	14.02.2323-21.02.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-80e56061	Vanessa Modesto	Comparing and harmonizing methodologies and techniques to study mussels’ behavioural patterns in response to climate change acro	Italy	Italian National Research Council Institute of Water Research IRSA	Karlstad University, Karlstadt, Sweden	18.03.2023-26.03.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-80ea100f	Sebastian Beggel	Harmonization of methods for mussel behaviour analysis using non-invasive valvometry sensors	Germany	Aquatic Systems Biology	CNR – Water Research Institute, Verbania, Italy	03.04.2023-14.04.2023
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-aa5c523f	Larisa Shevchuk	Analysis of age structure of Unionidae populations as an important bioindicator	Ukraine	Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University zu.edu.ua	IOP PAN, Kraków, Poland	27.02.2023-12.03.2023

STSM proposals accepted in the August 2022 call:

Reference	Applicant Name	Title	Country of Applicant	Applicant Primary Institution	Host	Time	Application Status
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-82493bc6	Motiur Chowdhury	Host-parasite interactions between Margaritifera margaritifera and Unio crassus and their host fishes	Finland	University of Jyvaskyla	Karlstad University, Sweden	23.08.-01.09.2022	aproved
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-e674c7fb	Oksana Hnatyna	Phenotypic variation of freshwater mussels in Ukraine: historical vs present data	Ukraine	Ivan Franko National University of Lviv	Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poland	22.08.-15.09.2022	approved

STSM proposals accepted in the June 2022 call:

Reference	Applicant Name	Title	Country of Applicant	Applicant Primary Institution	Host	Time	Application status
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-7106af6b	Liliya Bylyna	Morphological and biological features of species of the Pisidiidae Family in Ukraine	Ukraine	Ivan Franko Zhytomyr State University	Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences	1.-10.08. 2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-a0bba04d	Noé Ferreira Rodríguez	USING FRESHWATER MUSSELS AS SENTINELS FOR WATER SECURITY	Spain	Universidade de Vigo	Poznan University of Life Sciences	1.-11.09. 2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-a5d7b96e	Motiur Chowdhury	Semi natural caging systems of mussels	Finland	University of Jyvaskyla	Mill of Kalborn (Luxemburg), Fondation Hellef fir D’Natur	8.-21.08. 2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-ec25db7a	Larisa Shevchuk	Biodiversity of the Bivalve Mollusks of the Pisidiidae Family in Ukraine	Ukraine	Zhytomyr Ivan Franko State University zu.edu.ua	Institute of Nature Conservation, Polish Academy of Sciences	1-10.08. 2022	accepted

STSM proposals accepted in the January 2022 call:

reference	Applicant Name	Title	Country of applicant	Applicant Primary Institution	Host	Time	Status
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-3328444c	Nicoletta Riccardi	Contributing to fill the knowledge gaps in diversity and distribution of European freshwater mussel species.	Italy	CNR Institute of Water Research	Blattfish e.U., Austria	01.07.-15.07.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-357badcc	Anna Łabęcka	The role of parasites as multipliers of invasive species and climate impacts on native European mussels	Poland	Jagiellonian University	Inst. Of Water Research, Verbania, Italy	01.07.-15.07.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-398779dc	Maria Urbańska	Contributing to fill the knowledge gaps in diversity and distribution of European freshwater mussel species.	Poland	Poznań University of Life Sciences	Czech University of Life Sciences	01.07.-15.07.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-48f01504	Andre Santos	Population genomics of the Portuguese freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera	Portugal	CIIMAR – Interdisciplinary Centre of Marine and Environmental Research	College de France, France	18.04-08.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-4d1a5d7a	Stoimir Stojanovski	Planning of research on parasites of mussels in Republic of North Macedonia and learning techniques of freshwater mussel parasit	North Macedonia	PSI Hydrobiological Institute, Ohrid	Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyväskylä, FINLAND	21.05.-31.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-6917a367	Maria Urbańska	Transnational cooperation to develop a conservation plan for Microcondylaea bonellii.	Poland	Poznań University of Life Sciences	University of Zagreb, Dept. of Biology	11.05.-16.05.2022	pending
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-7c4a97e7	Maria Urbańska	Transnational cooperation to develop a conservation plan for Microcondylaea bonellii.	Poland	Poznań University of Life Sciences	URBANZERO Institute for Holistic Environmental Management, Slovenia	05.05.-10.05.2022	pending
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-8bd52509	Silvia Giorgia Signorini	Development of analytical methods to assess epigenetics traits in freshwater bivalves	Italy	Università degli Studi di Milano	Eawag, Department of Aquatic Ecology, Switzerland	04.04.-12.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-96e7e752	Jake Dimon	Use of physical surveys and molecular techniques to monitor freshwater mussel diversity across Iberian basins	United Kingdom	University of Nottingham	Univ. Of Porto, CIBIO	13.04.-27.04.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-a9ca020c	Dariusz Halabowski	Intra-specific impact of a simulated drought on the behaviour of Unio delphinus	Poland	University of Silesia in Katowice	Univ. Of Minho, Portugal	01.07.-01.08.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-abdb58b5	Simone Varandas	Contributing to fill the knowledge gaps in diversity and distribution of European freshwater mussel species	Portugal	University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro		01.07.-15.07.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-b8fb490a	Dijana Blazhekovikj – Dimovska	Learning techniques of freshwater mussel parasite examination and planning of research on parasites of mussels in Republic of No	North Macedonia	Faculty of Biotechnical Sciences, University “St. Kliment Ohridski” – Bitola	University of Jyväskylä, FINLAND	21.05.-31.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-bfdc05c7	Nicoletta Riccardi	Transnational cooperation to develop a conservation plan for Microcondylaea bonellii	Italy	CNR Institute of Water Research	URBANZERO Institute for Holistic Environmental Management, Mirna, Slovenia	06.05.-10.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-d4a2606b	Paulo Castro	Acute responses of Freshwater Mussels	Portugal	University of Minho	Karlstad University, Sweden	30.03.-9.04.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-e627c844	Vanessa Modesto	Conservation plan for Microcondylaea bonellii: tailored strategy for in-vitro breeding.	Italy	Italian National Research Council Institute of Water Research IRSA	Department of Zoology and Fisheries, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Czechia	16.05.-31.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-fa7a30f8	Nicoletta Riccardi	Transnational cooperation to develop a conservation plan for Microcondylaea bonellii	Italy	CNR Institute of Water Research	University of Zagreb, Department of Biology, Croatia	11.05.-15.05.2022	accepted
E-COST-GRANT-CA18239-ff8c7fb6	Manuel Lopes Lima	Genetic diversity of freshwater mussels of Central Europe	Portugal	CIBIO/InBIO – Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources	Czech University of Life Sciences Prague	01.07.-15.07.2022	accepted

Accepted applications are listed below:

STSM CALL (20 MAY 2021):

Number of proposal: 48048

Name: Füsun Akgül
Home institution country: Turkey, MEHMET AKIF ERSOY UNIVERSITY (BURDUR)
Host institution country: Italy, CNR Institute of Water Research (Verbania)

Duration (days): 16
Title: STSM: Italy-Turkey

Number of proposal: 48113

Name: Alexandra Zieritz
Home institution country: University of Nottingham (Nottingham, United Kingdom)
Host institution country: University of Porto, CIBIO (Porto, Portugal)

Duration (days): 7
Title: Effects of climate change on freshwater mussel behaviour

Number of proposal: 48120

Name: Şebnem Atasral
Home institution country: Karadeniz Technical University (Trabzon, Turkey)
Host institution country: Research Center in Biodiversity and Genetic Resources, Universidade do Porto, Vairão, Portugal

Duration (days): 31
Title: Working Group 1 Diversity STSM Call

Number of proposal: 48138

Name: Rebeca Hoess
Home institution country: Technical University of Munich (Freising, Germany)
Host institution country: Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

Duration (days): 15
Title: Comparing stressors and restoration measures in freshwater pearl mussel streams in Central Europe and Scandinavia, learning aquaria techniques, and networking

Number of proposal: 48149

Name: Daniel Daill
Home institution country: Consultants in Aquatic Ecology and Engineering “blattfisch e.U.” (Wels, Austria)
Host institution country: University of Bergen, Department of Biological Sciences (BIO), Bergen, Norway

Duration (days): 5
Title: Visit of the freshwater pearl mussel breeding facility in Austevoll (Norway)

Number of proposal: 48152

Name: Alexandra Zieritz
Home institution country: University of Nottingham (Nottingham, United Kingdom)
Host institution country: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

Duration (days): 10
Title: Taxonomic revision of freshwater mussels of Bulgaria

Number of proposal: 48155

Name: Nicoletta Riccardi
Home institution country: CNR Institute of Water Research (Verbania, Italy)
Host institution country: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Reseaech, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,

Duration (days): 10
Title: Contributing to fill the knowledge gaps in diversity and distribution of European freshwater mussels species

Number of proposal: 48156

Name: Maria Urbańska
Home institution country: Poznań University of Life Sciences (Poznań, Poland)
Host institution country: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria

Duration (days): 10
Title: Contributing to fill the knowledge gaps in diversity and distribution of European freshwater mussels species

Number of proposal: 48158

Name: Maria Urbańska
Home institution country: Poznań University of Life Sciences (Poznań, Poland)
Host institution country: CNR Institute of Water Research (Verbania, Italy)

Duration (days): 16
Title: To what extent pre-adaptation can influence the behavioral response of invasive and native bivalves to thermal stress?

Funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme
of the European Union

¹ – Early Career Investigator – An individual who is within a time span of up to 8 years from the date they obtained their PhD/doctorate (full-time equivalent).
² – ITCs: Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Republic of North Macedonia, Republic of Serbia and Turkey.