Name: Taís Barbosa Almeida
Type: PhD thesis
Publication date: 29/09/2021
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Frederico Falcão Salles | Co-advisor * |
| Roberta Paresque | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Frederico Falcão Salles | Co advisor * |
| Jeane Marcelle Cavalcante do Nascimento | External Examiner * |
| Lucimar Gomes Dias | External Examiner * |
| Pitágoras da Conceição Bispo | External Examiner * |
| Roberta Paresque | Advisor * |
| Yuri Luiz Reis Leite | Internal Examiner * |
Summary: This study aimed to increase the knowledge of the Ephemeroptera order through molecular tools (DNA-barcode) and geometric morphometry. In the first chapter, we present the levels of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) sequences variation in four Brazilian Ephemeroptera families: Leptophlebiidae, Baetidae, Leptohyphidae, and Oligoneuridae, to verify if this gene can provide a reference point in making decisions about distinctions at species level in Brazilian families of Ephemeroptera. DNA sequence data from 243 specimens, belonging to 40 genera, 77 species, covering the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, Caatinga and Cerrado biomes were examined to develop hypotheses for evaluating the levels of sequence variation. The results suggest that genetic distance values up to 2% to 5% were indicative of intraspecific variation; and values above 6% are highly likely to be indicative of interspecific variation. In the second chapter we evaluate the morphological diversity and evolution of the wings of Hagenulinae (Leptophlebiidae). Using geometric morphometry, we investigated the morphological variations of the wings of 130 specimens belonging to four subtribes: Hermanellina, Miroculina, Ulmeritina, and Hagenulina. The results revealed significant allometry for the fore and posterior wings, thus the increase in the size of the wings influences the shape, especially in the basal and apical regions of the wing. Furthermore, it was observed that the characteristics of the hindwings contribute better to the separation of the subtribes, indicating that their shape is important in the evolution of the flight characteristics of this particular group of Ephemeroptera.
Key-words: Ephemeroptera, Neotropical, Barcode, Morphological diversity, Wings
