Morphological analysis of a siphonophore collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

• Grant number: 17/26424-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): June 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Otto Muller Patrão de Oliveira
• Grantee: Eric Yukihiro Nishiyama
• Supervisor: Allen Gilbert Collins
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Ministério da Educação (Brasil). Santo André , SP, Brazil
• Research place: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 16/12839-3 - Taxonomic revision of the Siphonophora (Cnidaria, Medusozoa, Hydrozoa), through phylogenetic analysis based on morphological data, BP.DR

Abstract

Siphonophores are a group of hydrozoans (Cnidaria: Medusozoa) of great importance in the marine pelagic environment. Despite that, studies about the systematics of these organisms are scarce in the literature. Little is known about the phylogenetic relationships between the group's superior taxa. The objective of the present research project is to conduct a detailed morphological study of different siphonophore morphotypes, enabling a posterior phylogenetic study based on morphological data. The material to be analyzed comes from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. The museum possesses material relative to 97 of the 186 currently valid siphonophore species. The selected specimens will be photographed using a stereomicroscope with digital camera attached. Posteriorly, morphological descriptions, elaboration of schemes, and measurements of specimens will be performed. After the conclusion of material analysis, the data obtained will be utilized for development of the candidate's PhD Thesis. (AU)