CAREER: Integrating phylogenetics and development to investigate character evolution in hydrozoans

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This project aims to advance our understanding of the developmental basis of evolutionary change in Hydrozoa. Hydrozoans belong to the phylum Cnidaria, a group of marine invertebrates that represent one of the earliest animal groups. Although hydrozoans are constructed from just two cell layers and a few different cell types, they display incredible diversity in overall body form and life cycles. This study will test the hypothesis that hydrozoan diversity is in large part a result of evolutionary changes in the regulation of developmental genes. This will be investigated through examination of key morphological characters and developmental gene expression patterns in candidate genes. These character states and gene expression patterns will be analyzed within a phylogenetic framework, using methods that can test for correlations between changes in gene expression and morphological characters. This research will not only enhance our understanding of the genetic basis for morphological evolution, but will provide innovative methods for studying developmental biology within an evolutionary framework. These research methods will be integrated into courses on phylogenetics, evolution and development. Several undergraduates, two graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher will be trained on this project. Data from this research will be used to develop exercises for an existing educational website aimed to help those who teach evolution.