Supervisors: Nataliya Budaeva & Miguel Meca
Background:
Orbiniidae is a diverse group of annelids, comprising more than 200 described species grouped into 20 genera. Orbiniids are common and abundant in shelf habitats, representing essential food resources for fish (including commercial), and are subjects of ecological monitoring investigations. Despite their common appearance in benthic studies, orbiniids are one of the annelid families with unresolved system and unclear diagnoses of most genera. Recent genomic studies showed strong evidence for combining the genera Phylo and Orbinia into one monophyletic group. Both genera comprise the largest is size orbiniid worms reaching several cm in length, they are very conspicuous and are easy to study. Nevertheless, the Nordic Orbinia and Phylo are poorly described and require formal revision, barcode library preparation, and clarification of taxonomic validity.
Preliminary obtained data show the presence of at least one potentially new species of Phylo in Norwegian waters confirmed with molecular data. A formal description of this species with subsequent publication in a per-reviewed journal will be one of the main tasks of the master project. The publication may be finalized beyond the master thesis time frame.
The project is a great opportunity for a student to become familiar with all aspects of biosystematics and taxonomy, acquire a wide range of skills and publish a scientific paper. A motivated student will have an opportunity to join field work in Svalbard or Finnmark (depending on the time frame of the Master thesis and availability).
The project will include:
- Examination of specimens of several species of Orbinia and Phylo from the University Museum of Bergen collection
- Examination 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)
- Formal description of the new species of Phylo from the Norwegian waters
- Presenting results on a conference
- Writing a publication for a peer-reviewed journal (with help of supervisors)
Contact: Nataliya Budaeva