Student: Eva Samson
Supervisors: Nataliya Budaeva & Tom Alvestad
Background:
The scale worm genus Bylgides is relatively small (combining 9 described species worldwide) but at the same time very conspicuous with all species being very large in size (up to 5-7 cm long). Our materials combine specimens collected from the Nordic waters as well as from the Siberian part of the Arctic. Comparative genetic data are available from the Canadian Arctic and from Alaska.
Preliminary data show the presence of at least 5 species of Bylgides in our samples including a potentially new species. The objective of this project is to revise the Arctic Bylgides species matching genetic information with the known morphotypes. One of the tasks will be building the annotated barcode library of the arctic Bylgides and to generate an identification key with illustrations.
The project is a great opportunity for a student to become familiar with all aspects of biosystematics and integrative taxonomy, acquire a wide range of skills in the morphology and molecular analysis, and participate in a scientific publication. The student will have an opportunity to participate in field work in Svalbard and/or Troms and Finnmark (depending on the time frame of the Master thesis).
The project will include:
- Examination of specimens of several species of Bylgides from the University Museum of Bergen collection
- Study of species morphology using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)
- Preparation of scientific illustrations (Adobe illustrator and Photoshop)
- DNA extraction, PCR, gel electrophoresis, and Sanger sequencing of selected molecular markers
- Work with the Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), data upload, annotation, and analysis
- Phylogenetic analyses of the obtained data (BLAST, alignment, Maximum Likelihood, Bayesian Analysis)
- Species delimitation analysis
- Presenting results on a conference
- Contributing to a publication in a peer-reviewed journal
Contact: Nataliya Budaeva