The museum's Arthropod collection team is collaborating on the project Genomic Insights for the Conservation of Rare Cave Arthropods (SpeleoPopGenomics), funded by the Institut d’Estudis Catalans (IEC) through its call for biogenomics research grants. The Research Institute of Biodiversity of the University of Barcelona (IRBio-UB), and the research groups ZooSysEvo and MEG are also participating.
This initiative continues the Speleogenomics-2 project and will focus on the blind scorpion (Belisarius xambeui), a relict spider (Telema tenella), an aquatic crustacean (Stenasellus virei), and a unique fungus-eating beetle (Parvospeonomus sp.). The ultimate goal is to deepen the understanding of their genetic variability to assess their conservation status and provide tools for the management and protection of this fauna.
To achieve this, the project team will analyze the complete genome of five individuals from three different locations for each of the four target species.
