Phylogeny and Morphometry in the Cenozoic Bryozoan Adeonellopsis

裂口苔藓虫是群居的海洋无脊椎动物，是后古生代海洋的常见组成部分。组成群体的个体息肉能够分化成几个不同的“异形体”，每个异形体都有不同的功能，使群体受益(例如，保护不受结壳竞争对手的伤害)。在区分物种和构建分类时，生物学家倾向于依赖单个动物园(息肉居住在其中)的特征。Scott Lidgard博士建议对动物级和群落级特征进行研究，目的是确定它们在揭示唇口化石属进化关系方面的相对价值。利德加德博士将使用基于计算机的图像分析和系统发育重建的最新技术。这项拟议的研究具有超越对苔藓动物分类感兴趣的古生物学家的影响。对群落级组织的关注与对珊瑚、海绵和其他殖民地群体感兴趣的植物学家和无脊椎动物动物学家有关。这项研究的结果将表明，群体水平的融合是否对这些群体的进化史以及对他们进行研究的方式有显著影响。

Cheilostome bryozoans are colonial marine invertebrates that are a common constituent of post-Paleozoic seas. The individual polyps that comprise the colony are capable of differentiating into several different "heteromorphs", each of which serves a distinct function that benefits the colony (e.g., protection from encrusting competitors). Biologists have tended to rely on the characteristics of individual zooids (within which polyps reside) in distinguishing species and constructing classifications. Dr. Scott Lidgard proposes a study of both zooid- and colony-level features, for the purpose of establishing their relative value in unravelling evolutionary relationships in a genus of fossil cheilostomes. Dr. Lidgard will use the most current techniques of computer-based image analysis and phylogenetic reconstruction. The proposed research has implications beyond paleontologists interested in bryozoan classification. The focus on colony-level organization is relevant to botanists and invertebrate zoologists interested in corals, sponges, and other colonial groups. The results of this study will suggest whether or not the colony-level of integration has a significant effect on the evolutionary history of these groups, and on the way research is conducted on them.