Collaborative: RUI: ARTS: Revisionary systematics of herbivorous sea slugs: identifying traits that promote diversification and morphological novelty.

囊舌属的海蛞蝓展示了一系列不寻常的特征，这些特征可能赋予它们进化上的优势。 例如，一些海蛞蝓物种像植物一样是“太阳能”，因为它们可以在以藻类为食后收获和隔离功能性光合叶绿体。这种偷窃能力，沿着其他特征，可能解释了它们的高多样化率和物种丰富度。 在这个项目中，研究人员将联合收割机结合遗传学、解剖学、生态学和发育学研究，描述100多种新的海蛞蝓物种。然后，建模将确定决定物种如何分布的因素，以及是什么使一些sacoglossans比其他人更具生态和进化多样性。海洋生物多样性日益受到人类活动和气候变化的威胁，但许多物种的学名并没有反映出生物多样性的实际丰富程度，从而妨碍了保护工作。抗癌化合物已经从一些saccoglossans中分离出来，其他的已经作为入侵藻类的生物控制剂，但是分类学的不确定性限制了它们在这些作用中的应用潜力。 为了充分利用对这种生物多样性资源的更好理解，该项目将在两个西班牙裔和主要是本科生的服务机构和国际研讨会期间培训下一代分类学家，开发基于网络的资源，并提供对海洋生态系统多样性因素的新见解。

Sea slugs of the genus Sacoglossa exhibit an array of unusual traits that may confer an evolutionary advantage. For example, some sea slugs species are 'solar-powered,' like plants, as they can harvest and sequester functional photosynthetic chloroplasts after feeding on algae. This kleptoplastic ability, along with other traits, may account for their high diversification rate and species richness. In this project, the researchers will combine genetic, anatomic, ecological and developmental studies to describe over 100 new species of sea slugs. Modeling will then identify factors that determine how species are distributed, and what makes some sacoglossans more ecologically and evolutionary diverse than others. Marine biodiversity is increasingly threatened by human activities and climate change, yet actual biodiversity richness is not reflected by the scientific names in many groups, hampering conservation efforts. Anti-cancer compounds have been isolated from some saccoglossans, and others have served as biological control agents for invasive algae, but taxonomic uncertainty has limited the potential for their use in these roles. To fully leverage an improved understanding of this biodiversity resource, this project will train the next generation of taxonomists at two Hispanic and predominantly undergraduate serving institutions and during an international workshop, develop web-based resources, and provide new insight into factors that govern diversity in marine ecosystems.