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

合作：RUI：ARTS：草食性海蛞蝓的修订系统学：识别促进多样化和形态新颖的特征。

• 批准号: 1355190
• 负责人: Patrick Krug
• 金额: $ 34.55万
• 依托单位: California State L A University Auxiliary Services Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2014-03-01 至 2018-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1355190&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; RUI; ARTS; Revisionary; systematics

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.

Sacoglossa属的海懒显示出一系列不同寻常的特征，这些特征可能会赋予进化优势。例如，一些海参物种像植物一样，是以太阳能为动力的，因为它们可以在以藻类为食后收获并隔离具有功能的光合作用叶绿体。这种变形能力，以及其他特征，可能是它们高度多样化和物种丰富的原因。在这个项目中，研究人员将结合遗传学、解剖学、生态学和发育研究来描述100多种新的海参。然后，建模将确定决定物种如何分布的因素，以及是什么使一些萨格鲁人在生态和进化上比其他人更多样化。海洋生物多样性日益受到人类活动和气候变化的威胁，但在许多群体中，实际的生物多样性丰富性并没有通过科学名称反映出来，这阻碍了保护工作。抗癌化合物已经从一些糖胶中分离出来，还有一些已经被用作入侵藻类的生防剂，但分类的不确定性限制了它们在这些作用中的潜力。为了充分利用对这种生物多样性资源的更好的了解，该项目将在两个西班牙裔和以本科生为主的服务机构培训下一代分类学家，并在一个国际研讨会期间，开发基于网络的资源，并对支配海洋生态系统多样性的因素提供新的见解。