Describing the diversity of cirratulid polychaetes from the Gulf of Oman
This is a suggestion for a Degree Project for Bachelor's and Master's levels at the Department of Marine Sciences. Degree projects at the Department of Marine Sciences are done independently and must be written and assessed individually.
Subject: Marine Biology
Project level: Master
Project time: 1 semester – 1 year (30-60 ects)
Project start: Flexible
Location: Tjärnö Marine Laboratory
Supervisors: Arne Nygren, Maël Grosse (Natural History Museum Oslo)
Project Background
Polychaetes, or bristle worms, are present an abundant in all of the Ocean’s environment. However, we only know a fraction of the extent diversity of this large group, especially in poorly studied regions.
Recently, several expeditions to the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea yielded a large number of polychaetes of the family Cirratulidae of very good quality, giving an opportunity to study in details the diversity of the group in the area.
Project Description
The aim of the project is to assess the diversity of cirratulid polychaetes collected during several expeditions to the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea. This will be done using morphological (microscopy) and molecular (DNA barcoding) techniques in an integrative taxonomy approach.
It is very likely that species new to science will be discovered, and we aim to publish re-descriptions and/or descriptions of new species in the area.
Contact
Maël Grosse: m.a.grosse@nhm.uio.no
Arne Nygren: arne.nygren@marine.gu.se