PhD (NUI Galway College of Science Fellowship)

Belinda LongakitPhD Topic: Evolutionary relationships of marine Haplosclerida inferred from molecular, morphological and ultrastructural data

Inconsistencies between morphological and molecular classification of sponges in the Order Haplosclerida are common.  My aim is to find additional characters particularly from sponge ultrastructure and use them to find support for evolutionary relationships suggested by other data.  I will extend the numbers of species sequenced for currently poorly sampled clades and I will re-examine problematic species in the phylogenetic tree constructed from molecular data focusing on their morphology and ultrastructure. I will ultimately propose new taxonomic revisions and describe additional species.

Contact Details


Zoology, Ryan Institute & School of Natural Sciences
Phone: 353 (0)91 493195
Fax: 353 (0)91 525005
Email: bel_longakitatymail.com