Graduate Program in Systematics, Animal Taxonomy, and Biodiversity of MZUSP
Our courses
Academic Master's Degree
Mainly focused on alumni from the Undergraduate Degree in Biological Sciences or related areas
Doctoral Degree
For holders of a Master's degree, preferably in Zoology or related areas
Direct Doctoral Degree
For undergraduate alumni with exceptional academic and scientific performance
Lines of Research
Taxonomia e Biodiversidade Animal
Estudo, descrição e classificação da diversidade animal, com ênfase na documentação rigorosa de espécies e na compreensão de sua distribuição geográfica e variação morfológica. As pesquisas integram abordagens clássicas da Zoologia, como morfologia comparada, anatomia e história natural, a ferramentas contemporâneas, incluindo dados moleculares e análises computacionais.
Os projetos frequentemente envolvem revisão taxonômica de grupos específicos, inventários de fauna, estudos de distribuição e análises biogeográficas, com forte base em coleções científicas. Inserida no contexto de um Museu de História Natural, a linha valoriza a pesquisa baseada em acervos e contribui para a consolidação do conhecimento sobre a biodiversidade, especialmente em regiões megadiversas.
Filogenia e Evolução
Relações evolutivas entre organismos e os processos que estruturam a diversidade biológica ao longo do tempo. Os estudos buscam reconstruir hipóteses filogenéticas robustas e compreender padrões de diversificação, adaptação e coevolução em diferentes linhagens animais, viventes e fósseis.
As abordagens combinam dados morfológicos, moleculares e genômicos com métodos avançados de inferência filogenética, modelagem evolutiva e análises comparativas. A linha também contempla investigações teóricas sobre métodos de reconstrução evolutiva e reflexões sobre a construção e comunicação do conhecimento evolutivo em museus e contextos educacionais.
Infrastructure
Zoological Collections
The Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo is a faithful depository of biological heritage samples with the Ministry of the Environment and houses several of the largest zoological collections in the country.
Multimedia room
The program has 20 modern laptops that are used by students in specific courses offered by the Program.
Multi-user laboratories
The Program has six laboratories of collective use, of multiuser character, and others of specific use, destined to the diverse specialties.
Library
The Library of the Museu de Zoologia of USP is today among the most complete and important in Brazil in its specialty area, Zoology.
Social impacts
Biodiversity Knowledge
Common results of the research developed in the Program are the discovery of new species, the production of faunistic inventories, and determination of the geographic distribution of the most diverse animal groups. Read more
Professores and students at MZUSP have already described thousands of animal species that were unknown to science, and this number continues to grow at accelerated rates. The results of biodiversity research conducted at MZUSP are fundamental to the knowledge of the planet’s biodiversity. Most of these studies involve groups that inhabit the Neotropical region, the area with the highest concentration of biodiversity on the planet and which, therefore, arouses global interest. The need to conduct basic studies on biodiversity becomes more and more imperative in view of climate change and the exponential growth of the destruction of endemic areas and biodiversity hotspots.
Environmental policies
The research on biodiversity developed in the program is essential for the development of environmental public policies, such as the delimitation of priority conservation areas in the Brazilian territory. Read more
The program’s students and professors often participate in workshops to evaluate threatened species, such as those promoted by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio). Some professors also work in offices encharged of environmental policy management and exploitation of products derived from biodiversity. As a faithful depository of biological heritage and possessing adequate infrastructure and highly qualified professionals, the MZUSP’s collections are home to large quantities of biological material that testify to the monitoring and evaluation of the environmental impact of large enterprises carried out on Brazilian territory (for example, hydroelectric plants, highways, and oil exploration platforms).
Public exhibition
An important part of the Program’s social insertion takes place through the participation of professors and students in exhibitions open to the public. Read more
Students and supervisors participated in the exhibition curatorial committees, contributing with ideas and bringing proposals to the projects. The current exhibition project of MZUSP included the “Discovery Room”, a space within the exhibition that enables interaction between the general public and MZUSP’s graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. This space has been used on a regular basis for lectures and workshops. For the Program’s students and professors, the space represents a communication opportunity with a non-academic public, fostering dialogue between the university and society on topics of global interest such as biodiversity, evolution, conservation, and climate change. For more information on MZUSP exhibition activities, click here.
Scientific dissemination
MZUSP promotes several scientific dissemination events with the general public. One of the events with the greatest repercussion is the annual celebration of Darwin Day. Read more
Since 2006, when it was originally conceived and implemented by a group of Graduate students, it has become part of the institution’s official calendar of activities. The students participate in several ways, from the organization to the promotion of activities for the dissemination and popularization of science, aimed at the general public. In addition, throughout the year, students and professors of the Program give lectures and workshops within the activities for the general public organized by the Outreach Division (OD) of MZUSP.
Management
