Taxonomic revision of the Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Medusozoa, Hydrozoa), through phylogenetic analysis based on morphological data

• Grant number: 16/12839-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2016
• End date: February 28, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Otto Muller Patrão de Oliveira
• Grantee: Eric Yukihiro Nishiyama
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 17/26424-2 - Morphological analysis of a siphonophore collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Siphonophores are a group of hydrozoans (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) of great importance in the marine pelagic environment, for being potentially one of the main consumers of the zooplankton in these areas. Despite that, studies about the systematics of these organisms are scarce in the literature. Most studies conducted around the world are limited to faunistic surveys, and little is known about the phylogenetic relationships between the group's higher taxa. In this context, this project aims to fill a significant portion of this gap by conducting a taxonomic redescription of the siphonophores, based on the study of morphological phylogeny. This will be done through a detailed morphological study of specimens obtained in oceanographic campaigns along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America, in addition to material borrowed from museums and private collections of researchers from various parts of the world. (AU)