Cláudia Namiki

Biology. The study of life! I've always been fascinated by this science, and as a child, I used to watch documentaries on anthills, the African savannah, and of course, the sea! When I started my biology courses at UFRJ, I did not know what specialty to follow with the many interesting fields available.  At first, I wanted to work in entomology, thanks to the many ant documentaries I watched as a child, but then I decided to get a bachelors degree in Marine Biology. This decision came when I first learned about zooplankton. These tiny organisms, that look like giants under the microscope, captured my interest. Among the diverse zooplankton in the oceans are the fish larvae: part fish, part cute critter, part monster. The diversity of shapes and developmental patterns in fish larvae is fascinating! It’s amazing how such tiny beings become the variety of majestic fish we know as tuna and grouper, or the creatures that inhabit the deep sea with their luminous organs. After studying estuarine larvae in my masters at UFRJ, it was this last group of fish that I decided to research during my doctorate at USP.   Even among biologists, fish larvae are a relatively unknown world. I hope that in this chat with Neptune, we can discuss these fantastic  beings and monitor their saga in the vast ocean!


Curriculum

Posts by Cláudia