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

Sacoglossa属的海蛞蝓表现出一系列不同寻常的特征，这些特征可能赋予其进化优势。例如，一些海蛞蝓种类像植物一样是“太阳能”的，因为它们在以藻类为食后可以收获和封存功能性光合叶绿体。这种变色能力和其他特征可能是它们高多样化率和物种丰富度的原因。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多种新的海蛞蝓。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sacoglossans更具生态和进化多样性。海洋生物多样性正日益受到人类活动和气候变化的威胁，但在许多种群中，实际的生物多样性丰富程度并没有通过学名反映出来，阻碍了保护工作。从一些糖舌聚糖中已分离出抗癌化合物，其他糖舌聚糖已被用作入侵藻类的生物防治剂，但分类的不确定性限制了它们在这些作用中的应用潜力。为了充分利用对这一生物多样性资源的进一步了解，该项目将在两个西班牙裔和主要为本科生服务的机构以及在一个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，并提供对控制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.