Evolutionary patterns and processes of freshwater shrimp Macrobrachium Spence Bate, 1868 from the Brazilian Amazon (Decapoda: Palaemonidae)

• Grant number: 24/15232-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: April 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Fernando Luis Medina Mantelatto
• Grantee: Rodrigo Pantoni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/13685-5 - Integrative analysis of the Brazilian fauna of decapod crustaceans: taxonomy, phylogenetic systematics, spermiotaxonomy, morphology of post-embryonic development, ecology and conservation, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

Macrobrachium Spence Bate, 1868 (Decapoda: Caridea: Palaemonidae) is a very diverse genus of freshwater shrimp. It is suspected that the diversity of the genus is greater than that known, and studies that investigate phylogenetic relationships have great potential to expand knowledge about Macrobrachium. In this sense, the focus of this study is on the species of the genus that have been recorded in the Amazon basin. The objective, therefore, is to understand the evolutionary history of these shrimp in the Amazon basin and the possible description of new biological entities, through integrative taxonomy. For this purpose, specimens already present in different collections will be examined, such as the Crustacean Collection of the Department of Biology (CCDB) and other scientific collections (MZUSP, INPA, MPEG), or, if necessary, from new samplings. The morphological analysis will consist of inspecting the main structural characters used for diagnosis in the specialized literature on the group, comparing them with the original descriptions of the species. The molecular protocol involves the extraction and amplification of the genetic material of the specimens, and subsequent purification and sequencing of the molecular markers of interest. The analysis of these results will be computational, based on the generation of phylogenetic trees that elucidate the relationships between the species of Macrobrachium, to infer a consistent evolutionary scenario for the study group, as well as to evaluate the hypothesis of the existence of cryptic species that are new to science.