Mapping and sharing scientific polychaete collections in Brazil: challenges for the Ocean Decade

Autor(es)

Petti, Monica A. V. ; Paiva, Paulo C. ; Steiner, Tatiana M. ; Messias, Camila S. M. A. ; Fukuda, Marcelo V. ; Zanol, Joana ; Bromberg, Sandra ; Amaral, A. Cecilia Z.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Ocean and Coastal Research; v. 72, p. 12-pg., 2024-01-01.

Resumo

Biological scientific collections provide a robust framework for studying past and present biodiversity through different perspectives. Mapping and sharing their information content may aid to reduce biodiversity shortfalls, such as those observed in annelid polychaetes. These are among the most important groups of marine invertebrates, playing pivotal ecological roles in benthic habitats, and being important bioindicators. The main scientific polychaete collections in Brazil are concentrated in four institutions: Museum of Zoology and Oceanographic Institute of University of S & atilde;o Paulo, Museum of Biological Diversity of State University of Campinas, and National Museum of Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. This paper explores the history and taxonomic knowledge of these collections, offering a comprehensive overview of their current statuses and highlighting challenges for the future. Together, these four collections safeguard over 300,000 samples from 68 polychaete families and 1,267 species representing 89% of the families and 94% of the species reported for the Brazilian coast. Among these samples, 252 are holotypes, which have rapidly increased in numbers in the past couple of decades due to the rise of species originally described from Brazil. Despite the long-standing presence of some of these institutions, the organization of their polychaete collections only began in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The organization of these official collections allowed the rescue of samples scattered around the institutions and made them available for further studies. All the Brazilian coastline is represented in these collections, but S & atilde;o Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are overrepresented. Historical factors, such as collection mergers, expeditions, and targeted projects, also influenced the geographic distribution of samples. Brazilian scientific polychaete collections have significantly advanced in the last 15 years. However, the associated data still needs better structuring and accessibility to the scientific community via open-access online platforms allowing further investigation on Brazilian polychaete biodiversity. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 14/15168-7 - Plataforma para estudos sobre biodiversidade marinha da costa sudeste brasileira e da região Antártica
• Beneficiário: Mario Katsuragawa
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa de Pesquisa sobre Mudanças Climáticas Globais - Regular
• Processo FAPESP: 18/10313-0 - Consolidação de coleções científicas de invertebrados marinhos: estratégias para conservação da biodiversidade
• Beneficiário: Antonia Cecília Zacagnini Amaral
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático