Abstract
The Museum of Zoology of the Institute of Biology of the State University of Campinas (ZUEC) has about 400,000 marine invertebrates, collected by large projects that have been conducted in Brazil since 1990. The vast majority of this material, obtained with funding from research foundations and government agencies, was collected in areas on the Brazilian coast that had not been studied before. The rarity of this material is also shown by the depths that were sampled, up to 3300m, in locations that include large canyons on the southeastern coast of Brazil. However, part of this material is not yet identified and / or needs a taxonomic refinement so that it can be translated into biodiversity measures and made available to the scientific community. The first challenge, which was to obtain specimens from these places, is already overcome by the large number of specimens collected and cataloged. However, we still face other challenges to correctly identify these collections, such as the taxonomic limitations observed for the proposed groups (i.e., the lack of morphological and molecular characteristics adequate for a correct identification of the species). Some of the problems pointed out in this project are related to the presence of misidentified species and complexes of species that need to be reviewed. Thus, we expect to perform a comprehensive study of new taxonomic characters, both morphological and molecular, to allow a better description of biodiversity and to provide a solid basis for the phylogenetic studies proposed in this project and also for future studies. To achieve this goal, we will combine modern techniques of morphological analyses and new DNA extraction protocols to be used on biological material fixed with formalin, which is common for material collected from the deep sea. In this sense, this project aims to produce an integrated study and complete the main collections of macrofauna marine invertebrates deposited in the ZUEC: Bivalvia, Polychaeta, Crustacea and Echinodermata. The creation of a new collection of meiofaunal organisms, Tardigrada, is also expected. The complexity of working with several collections at different stages of development and with different needs demands that this project should be structured according to the specificities of each taxonomic group. In this regard, the study proposals of these collections will be developed by researchers specialized in the different groups of species. These researchers will also be directly involved in the training of new researchers, thereby contributing to the taxonomic development in Brazil. The most comprehensive result will be the taxonomic refinement of 150.000 specimens deposited at the ZUEC, and the enhancement of the data with the prior information of the SpeciesLink Network. This information will be included in an online database that is already in operation at the Museum. Thus, considering the number of specimens still awaiting identification, this project has great potential to provide new species to science, new occurrence records and also clarifying information for phylogenetic analyzes of the different groups. The identification of these many specimens from different parts of Brazil will certainly reduce many gaps in the knowledge of Brazilian and world biodiversity. Results from this project will also add a greater scientific value to the collection of ZUEC. It is in this context of immense knowledge gaps and great possibilities that this proposal is inserted. (AU)
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