Cristina Polónia Rodrigues
MSc Student
On my Master project I focus my attention on a group of blue sea slugs, named Felimare (Nudibranchs belonging to family of Chromodorididae). Chromododidae groups are potentially important for studies of species diversity, evolutionary adaptation of color patterns, and as source of natural deterrent compounds.
My objectives are two-folded:
1) A comparative phylogeograpgy study in the throughout Iberian Peninsula Atlantic sea, extending to the Mediterrean Iberian coasts, looking foward to perceive the natural history behind the group, as well as the marine biogeographic patterns of that area of distribution.
2) Transcriptome characterization of two species (F. villafranca and F. cantabrica), and nuclear markers survey, which in the future will contribute to clarify the phylogeny of Felimare.
