DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Systematics and evolution of sea anemones (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Hormathiidae) symbiotic with hermit crabs

在Marymegan Daly博士的指导下，俄亥俄州立大学研究基金会获得了一笔赠款，用于研究海葵和寄居蟹之间共生的系统学和进化。这笔拨款将改善Luciana Gusmao的博士论文研究。海葵和寄居蟹的共生是海洋中最有趣和最引人注目的共生生物之一。海葵和螃蟹的伙伴关系是一种互惠互利的关系，海葵获得食物，并从不利的当地环境条件下运输，以换取保护螃蟹免受捕食者的伤害。这种共生关系在行为和生理方面得到了广泛的研究，而生物多样性和进化成分却很少或根本没有受到关注。本研究采用遗传学、行为观察和博物馆标本相结合的方法，了解寄居蟹类共生海葵的多样性和进化。除了阐明海葵-寄居蟹关系的进化史外，这项研究还将产生共生关系的详细描述，改进的工具来鉴定这些丰富的海洋无脊椎动物，以及新的标本和DNA样本集合。在这个项目的过程中，一名研究生和一名高中生将接受海葵生物学和基因技术方面的培训。这项工作的成果将发表在一般和科学出版物上，提高公众对海洋生物多样性和共生的认识。

A grant has been awarded to the Ohio State University Research Foundation under the direction of Dr. Marymegan Daly to study the systematics and evolution of a symbiosis between sea anemones and hermit crabs. The grant will improve the doctoral dissertation research of Luciana Gusmao. The association of sea anemones and hermit crabs is one of the most interesting and eye catching symbioses in the sea. The anemone-crab partnership is a mutualism in which anemones gain access to food and transport away from unfavorable local environmental conditions, in exchange for defending the crab from predators. This symbiosis has been studied extensively in terms of behavior and physiology, while the biodiversity and evolutionary components have received little or no attention. This study uses genetics, observations of behavior, and museum specimens in an integrated approach to understand the diversity and evolution of this group of hermit crab symbiotic anemones. In addition to illuminating the evolutionary history of the sea anemone-hermit crab relationship, this research will generate detailed descriptions of symbiotic relationships, improved tools for the identification of these abundant marine invertebrates, and new collections of specimens and DNA samples. In the course of this project, a graduate student and a high school student will be trained in sea anemone biology and genetic techniques. Results from this work will be featured in both general and scientific publications, increasing public awareness about marine biodiversity and symbiosis.