Phylogenetic Systematics and Biogeography of Sphaeromatid Isopods (Crustacea: Peracarida)

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A grant has been awarded to Drs. Regina Wetzer and Joel Martin of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County to study the relationships of a very diverse and important family of crustaceans. These crustaceans are commonly known as pillbugs, sow bugs, or rolly-pollies, and scientifically known as sphaeromatid isopods. Today more than 600 species are known, yet we still do not know how sphaeromatid species are related to one another and how they came into their present distribution on the planet. This project will define their evolutionary relationships using analysis of both morphological features and gene sequences. We will sample 100 species representing over 25 genera (1/6 of the world's sphaeromatid species diversity representing nearly 2/3 of the known generic diversity). Our plan of sampling across taxa will provide a solid phylogenetic framework for the group.We are living in one of the largest biodiversity crises in Earth history. In similar previous crises, large proportions of the biota went extinct. For humans to be able to survive the present crisis, we will need to understand which organisms are being affected and in what ways. Unfortunately, for most animal groups, we are unable to identify the species and their evolutionary origins. Therefore we cannot understand how their diversity and abundance is changing. This study focuses on a group of animals that is common and globally distributed, and thus likely to be strongly affected by change.