Filling the gaps in the systematics of Aurelia (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa): an integration of morphological data to known molecular species

• Grant number: 17/07317-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: October 02, 2017
• End date: January 16, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: André Carrara Morandini
• Grantee: Jonathan Wanderley Lawley
• Supervisor: Allen Gilbert Collins
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/12163-0 - The identity of Aurelia jellyfish (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa) from the Brazilian coast and discussions on the systematics and taxonomy of the genus, BP.MS

Abstract

Despite the recent increase in research efforts regarding jellyfish and associated blooming events, which have important economic and health impacts, much of the evolutionary relationships among Medusozoa are still unclear. In this sense, much debate exists concerning the number of species within the genus Aurelia (moon jellyfish), dating back to the 1800s and still unresolved. Through time, many of the species described were synonymized and only A. aurita, A. limbata and A. labiata were considered valid, although recent molecular efforts have proposed at least another eleven species. This emphasizes the crypticism of speciation within the genus, and therefore the need of more detailed morphological, genetic and geographical evaluation of presumed species. In this study, we propose to continue the effort of elucidating diversity within the genus. In order to accomplish this, we will analyze the morphology of preserved specimens from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Collection, USA. This will be an important step towards understanding speciation within the Medusozoan clade, as well as vital for the accurate determination of species present in the Brazilian coast. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

LAWLEY, JONATHAN W.; GAMERO-MORA, EDGAR; MARONNA, MAXIMILIANO M.; CHIAVERANO, LUCIANO M.; STAMPAR, SERGIO N.; HOPCROFT, RUSSELL R.; COLLINS, ALLEN G.; MORANDINI, ANDRE C.. The importance of molecular characters when morphological variability hinders diagnosability: systematics of the moon jellyfish genus Aurelia (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa). PeerJ, v. 9, SEP 9 2021. (19/03552-0, 17/07317-0, 16/04560-9, 16/12163-0, 15/21007-9)