The team was able to relate genomic strains thanks to images shared by civilians. After all, there are 4 or more species of Portuguese caravel.
The Portuguese caravel has long been considered a single widely distributed species that circulates freely through the oceans.
However, a new one published in Current Biology He has just realized that, after all, there is biodiversity. The discovery was made when sequencing the genomes of 151 specimens of Physalia from various parts of the world.
Contrary to what we thought, the Portuguese caravel is one of at least four distinct species, Each with its own morphology, genetics and distribution.
“We were shocked, because we always assumed that they all belonged to the same species,” said researcher Kylie Pitt of Griffit University, Ao.
“But genetic data clearly show that not only are different, but they don’t even intersect with each other, even when they share the same areas. Bag full of gas and the muscle crest to catch the wind and navigate to the sea surface. ”
And there were even those who entered the study without being an expert. The team was able to relate genomic strains to four distinct physical forms identified from Thousands of images submitted by citizens through the platform
“There is this idea that open oceans are all interconnected and that there is only a kind of golden-distributed caravel by the wind and the currents,” said Professor Pitt. “But this is completely wrong. And the most interesting, on the east coast of Australia, is that We have several species that have evolved although they could coexist.“
“So, why did they developed as separate species, when at the outset they would all be in the same environment, to mix? What selective pressures led to the differentiation of these species?”
Only future investigations will say, comment scientists. And there are already predictions of news: UMW now wants to develop a forecast method to prevent spring caravels bites.
