Anna Ayvazyan, Dr.

Curriculum Vitae

• B. Sc. in Ecology (Biology minor) and Pedagogy at the Armenian State Pedagogical University
• Bachelor thesis: „The comparative description of craniological and sensory system characteristics of large barbs (Cyprinidae, Capoeta) from river Kura and lake Sevan“ at the Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
• Graduated with a Bachelor in Ecology (add. Biology) and Pedagogy

• M.Sc. in Ecology and Pedagogy at the Armenian State Pedagogical University
• Master thesis: „Craniological, karyological and ecological characteristic of the large barb (Capoeta capoeta, Cyprinidae) from different water bodies of Armenia“ at the Institute of Zoology, National Academy of Sciences of Armenia
• Graduated with a Master in Nature Protection

• Doctoral student in the Earth Sciences / Palaeontology at the Eberhard-Karls University of Tuebingen
• Thesis title: Pharyngeal apparatus in barbin and labeonin fishes: implications for phylogeny, ecology, and paleobiogeography of Barbinae (Cyprinidae)

Research interest

Carps (Cyprinidae) are introduced with more than 2000 species, it is the most diverse family of bony fishes (Nelson 2006). It includes more than half of all living carp species in the tribes Barbini (True barbel) and Labeonini (lips barbels; He et al 2008, Yang et al 2012). However, the taxonomy and phylogeny of the Cyprinidae is based on morphological homoplasies (Howes 1991) and despite modern studies of mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences is still chaotic (He et al. 2008). Perea et al. (2010) were able to show for the European subfamily Leuciscinae that with the combination of molecular and morphological data sets homoplasies are recognizable and geochronological phylogenies calibrated. The morphologically most important region of the body is the pharyngeal apparatus (Böhme in Perea et al. 2010).

In the fossil record is carp fish usually represented by disarticulated findings (e.g. Böhme et al., 2013). Their taxonomy is based primarily on morphological extant comparisons of isolated pharyngeal bones and teeth, which currently is not entirely clear how much phylogenetic and / or environmental information can provide these elements.

The project aimed to study pharyngeal bone and teeth of Cyprinidae fishes and pharyngeal myology of four species of Barbini and Labeonini, (Barbus barbus, Capoeta capoeta, Barbus subquincunciatus, Labeo rohita) for understanding the phylogenetic relationships within these fishes, as well as identifying ecological and more informative characteristics of pharyngeal apparatus of these fishes.

Study will be carried out by using morphometric measurements, preparation, histological serial sections, µCT-scans and contrast staining of non-mineralized tissues. 3D reconstructions will be used for both the demonstrative and comprehensible representation as well as the quantification of morphological structures. Morphological homoplasies in the pharyngeal apparatus of fossil cyprinids can be recognized by a combination of molecular (mDNA + nDNA) and geohistoric data.

Capoeta sevangi: µCT-scan and 3D reconstruction of partial body (upper row- lateral and lower row-transvers views)

3D reconstruction of the pharyngeal bone of Capoeta sevangi

3D reconstruction of the pharyngeal bone of Capoeta umbla

Ayvazyan A., Vasilyan D., Böhme M., 2019: Possible species-flock scenario for the evolution of the cyprinid genus Capoeta (Cypriniformes: Cyprinidae) within late Neogene lake systems of the Armenian Highland. PLoS ONE 14(5): e0215543. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0215543

Ayvazyan A., Vasilyan D., Böhme M., 2019a: 3D morphology of pharyngeal dentition of the genus Capoeta (Cyprinidae): Implications for taxonomy and phylogeny. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research 57(1): p.179-190

Voronova N.V., Setrakova E.M., Karagyan G.A., Ayvazyan A.E., Buga S.V. 2014. Morphometric analysis of aphids Brachycaudus divaricatae Shap. (Rhynchota; Aphididae): variation of morphometrical futures among and between aboriginal and invasive populations. - Vesnik of Yanka Kupala State University of Grodno, series 5, № 2 (177), 136-143 (in Russian, with English summary).

Voronova N.V., Karagyan G.A., Ayvazyan A.E., Moysinovich K.V., Buga S.V. 2014. Morphometric analysis of aphids of Macrosiphum rosae complex: the variation of traits in geographically and ecologically discrete hemipopulations. - Vestnik BSU, series 2, №1, 39-47 (in Russian, with English summary).

Ayvazyan A.E., Moysinovich K.V. 2013. Comparative morphometry of some Armenian and Belarusian populations of Rose aphid Macrosiphum rosae (Linnaeus, 1758) (Insecta Hemiptera, Aphididae). - Proceedings of the international conference «Biodiversity and wildlife conservation ecological issues», 2013, Armenia. pp. 269-273.

Karagyan, G.H., Ayvazyan, A.E. Kalashian, M.Yu., Stepanyan, I.E., Nesterova, O.L. 2013. The detection of parthenogenetic population of Bromius obscurus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae) in Armenia. - Biological Journal of Armenia. (in Russian, with English summary).

Ayvazyan, A.E., Pipoyan, S. Kh., Stepanyan, I. E. 2011. Craniological, seismosensor and cytological features of transcaucasian barbs (Cyprinidae: Capoeta) from different water bodies of Armenia. - Proceedings of the international conference «Biological diversity and conservation problems of the fauna of the Caucasus», 2011, Yerevan, Armenia. pp. 19-20.

Ayvazyan, A.E., Stepanyan, I. E., Pipoyan, S. Kh. 2011. Morphological and karyological characteristics of Oxinoemachelius cf. brandtii Kessler (Cypriniformes: Balitoridae) from Hrazdan river. - Proceedings of the international conference «Biological diversity and conservation problems of the fauna of the Caucasus», 2011, Yerevan, Armenia. pp. 20-23.