Life Sciences & Biotechnology
Title : | An Insight on Microevolution, Population Divergance, and Molecular Dating of Snake Eels (Ophichthidae)from the Indian Cost |
Area of research : | Life Sciences & Biotechnology |
Focus area : | Marine Biology, Evolutionary Biology |
Principal Investigator : | Dr. Swarup Ranjan Mohanty, Berhampur University, Odisha |
Timeline Start Year : | 2024 |
Timeline End Year : | 2026 |
Contact info : | mohantyswarup93@gmail.com |
Details
Executive Summary : | The project aims to comprehensively understand snake eels belonging to the family Ophichthidae along the Indian coast by investigating microevolution, population divergence, and molecular dating. With the increasing importance of conserving marine biodiversity, the study aligns with the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and Sustainable Development Goals, particularly goal 14, which focuses on the sustainable use of oceans and marine resources. Snake eels in the Ophichthidae family are caught in large quantities, often as bycatch, and their sustainable management is crucial for maintaining marine ecosystems. The family exhibits diverse morphological traits and inhabits various depths in tropical and subtropical oceans. However, the classification and identification of these species pose challenges due to their ambiguous morphological features. The project includes field surveys and sampling in multiple coastal states across India, covering both the east and west coasts from various habitats and depths to ensure proper representation of each population of separate species of the family under consideration. The study will emphasize morphological analysis, which includes measurements, examination of external morphology, teeth pattern, and X-ray photography to analyze the vertebrae of the species to study physical traits and variation. The study also focuses on understanding population genetics through DNA bar-coding based on the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequence. The combined analysis of morphology and genetics will be employed to understand microevolution in different populations of the family Ophichthidae. The study will help resolve taxonomic ambiguities and provide clarity regarding species identification and cryptic species complexes in the Ophichthidae family. Molecular dating will be used to estimate the time of divergence between species or lineages, providing insights into the evolutionary history of the snake eels. By comparing genetic differences and calibrating the mutation rate, the proposed study will determine when these species diverged from a common ancestor. The project's significance lies in its contribution to the sustainable development goals and conservation of marine resources. Moreover, the project's findings will contribute to the broader understanding of marine biodiversity and its conservation. |
Organizations involved