Introduction
Considering animals most people think about vertebrates and thereby especially mammals and birds. These are often considered the most sophisticated and evolutionary successful animals on Earth. However, this is not true taking into account evolutionary history, biodiversity, ecology or biomass. Invertebrates outshine vertebrates in all these categories. Moreover, invertebrates have evolved novel structures and inhabited habitats unoccupied by vertebrates. Hence, invertebrates have much to teach us about evolution in general and in particular. On the other hand, except for a few flagship species and groups, invertebrates are heavily understudied, especially considering marine invertebrates. The latter is especially important as all animals live depends on water and originated from the marine realm. Hence, understanding the evolution of marine invertebrates will help us to understand evolution at much more detailed and complete level.
The topic of this thesis will build upon the results obtained by the “AleutBio” Expedition coordinated by the Senckenberg Museum in Germany. The “AleutBio” expedition is studying seafloor life of all size classes (meio-, macro- and megafauna) in the eastern Bering Sea and the eastern Abyssal and Hadal of the Aleutian Trench. It is planned to describe biodiversity, highlight biogeographical relationships and investigate the connectivity of species with those from the Arctic Ocean and the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench in times of rapid climate change. To this end, biological samples from the eastern Aleutian Trench at abyssal and hadal depths and at two stations at the Bering Sea will be compared with samples from the sampling areas of the KuramBio I and II expeditions and from previous Russian expeditions. Integrative taxonomic work shall be conducted, which includes applying standard molecular techniques as the basis for phylogeographic surveys and connectivity studies. As part of this project, an international taxonomic workshop dedicated to polychaetes from the Aleutian trench will be conducted at the Marine Biological Station of Roscoff in September to determine the species morphologically.
In this Master thesis, you would confirm the identification of the morphological determined species using molecular techniques for selected polychaete groups and conduct studies on the genetic connectivity of these species within the study area. You would work on possible taxonomic revisions of species within the group together with an international expert on the group.
What you will learn:
You will learn to conduct taxonomic identification, extensive literature research and distribution mapping. This will include among others extensive molecular work optimizing the protocols for very different species for DNA barcoding. You will apply programs for phylogenetic reconstruction and conduct statistical analyses of your results.
What we offer:
First and foremost, we offer a friendly and kind mentoring environment. We offer a membership in ForBio (the research school in biosystematics) where you will be able to take courses in several places in Norway. You will potentially be able to attend international courses if they fit with the objectives. You will be able to participate in a national conference (ForBio meeting) and potentially in an international conference depending on funding. If you are interested, we will be able to discuss travel opportunities and a travelling period abroad.
What we expect from you:
Commitment and dedication
Outcomes:
One (or more) scientific publications, conference communication
Supervision and teaching:
You will be supervised by Torsten Struck (UiO) and Karin Mei?ner (Senckenberg Museum).
For further inquiries, please contact Torsten Struck (t.h.struck@nhm.uio.no)