| Grant number: | 11/50724-0 |
| Support type: | BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Young Investigators Grants |
| Duration: | October 01, 2011 - September 30, 2015 |
| Field of knowledge: | Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups |
| Principal researcher: | Michela Borges |
| Grantee: | Michela Borges |
| Home Institution: | Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil |
Abstract
Zoological collections deposited in museums have a central role in the study of animal diversity. The State of Sao Paulo currently has five institutions that maintain partial or particular collections of marine invertebrates, including the Museum of Zoology of the State University of Campinas (ZUEC). The ZUEC Museum has been contributing significantly to the Brazilian scientific collections of marine invertebrates, especially. Polychaeta, Mollusca and Echinodermata, since a large number of specimens from various major projects are being deposited in that museum. At present, the collection contains about 116 thousand specimens in approximately 14 thousand lots. The aim of this project is to curate and computerize the collections of marine invertebrate of the ZUEC Museum, as well as to provide continuation of its exchange programs with other institutions. Taxonomic studies of the echinoderms deposited in the Museum will also be carried out, with emphasis on the Ophiuroidea. This collection will be analyzed with particular attention to morphological, taxonomic, distributional, phylogenetic and molecular aspects, given the volume of available material. Initially the genera Ophiophycis and Ophiomisidium, which bear issues of misidentification, will be studied. Supervision of graduate students is also among the goals, aiming the investment in training taxonomists and the establishment of a new line of research in the ZUEC Museum. (AU)