Characterization of the varying morphologies of the Swedish Sea Lettuces
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: Bachelor- and Master students
Project start: Time flexible
Supervisor: Sophie Steinhagen
Project Description
Green macroalgae of the genus Ulva are ubiquitous inhabitants of marine and brackish coastal waters. Several macroalgal species have recently increased, owing to opportunistic lifestyles and the capacity to benefit from eutrophication and other anthropogenic impacts. The ability to accurately identify such taxa has become much more important.
However, the identification of certain macroalgae, such as the Sea Lettuces (Ulva), is notoriously difficult. Several Ulva species exhibit a strong morphological plasticity and cryptic species further complicate exact species identification by classical morphological characters only.
The aim of the project
Within this project, you will identify the morphological plasticity (variation of optical appearance) of the Swedish Ulva species by microspcopy and macromorphological observations. You will match our existing genetic database with the morphology of the species and develop a guide for their distribution along the Swedish coastline. Furthermore, you will create a classical herbarium to show the varying morphological characters per species. Genetic species identification can be included if you are interested in this as well.
This project is suitable for Bachelor- and Master students and includes microscopy, lab-work, as well as field collection of green algae.
Contact
Sophie Steinhagen
Email: sophie.steinhagen@gu.se