Name: Gabriel Carvalho Coppo
Type: PhD thesis
Publication date: 13/07/2023
Advisor:
Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Angelo Fraga Bernardino | Advisor * |
Examining board:
| Name |
Role |
|---|---|
| Ana Carolina de Azevedo Mazzuco | External Alternate * |
| Angelo Fraga Bernardino | Advisor * |
| Elisandra de Almeida Chiquito | External Examiner * |
| Jean-Christophe Joyeux | Internal Examiner * |
| Maikon Di Domenico | External Examiner * |
| Tiago José Pereira | External Examiner * |
| Valéria Fagundes | Internal Alternate * |
Summary: The term meiofauna represents benthic metazoans with sizes between 50μm and 500μm.
These animals are ubiquitous in freshwater and marine ecosystems at low or high depths.
Meiofauna plays a key ecological role in marine sediments, acting in several ecological
and biogeochemical processes, linking marine trophic levels, and are broadly used as
indicators of quality or environmental impacts. Due to its small size and high diversity,
its identification requires extensive work and time for specialists on different phyla.
Because of this, the use of DNA-based technologies has been proposed as an alternative
in the study of the ecology of this group from environmental samples (Metabarcoding).
This thesis seeks to investigate, using metabarcoding, spatial and temporal patterns of
meiofauna diversity in different coastal ecosystems in southeastern Brazil. Chapter 1
presents a general introduction to the central theme of this Thesis, highlighting the
importance of this type of study and presenting the objective of subsequent chapters. In
Chapter 2, a transition process was observed in the composition and diversity of
meiofauna in the Rio Doce estuary at different times after a mining tailings disaster. In
Chapter 3 the data obtained indicate greater phylogenetic diversity and differences in the
benthic assemblage composition associated with high-density rhodolith beds. The data
that compose Chapter 4 demonstrate the influence of seasonality and spatial and
ecological factors on the diversity, abundance, and composition of meiofauna, in addition
to indicating the existence of an ecological filter between sandy beaches and tide pools.
Chapter 5 presents the general conclusions obtained in this Thesis, demonstrating its
importance and difficulties and presenting possible future research that may benefit from
the results presented here.
Keywords: environmental DNA; Benthos; Metabarcoding; Rio Doce; Rhodoliths; Tide
pools; Beach
