Ursprung, Speziation, Ausbreitung und intraspezifische Differenzierung arktischer und antarktischer Schlangensterne der Gattung Ophiocten: Hinweise aus vergleichenden Untersuchungen molekulargenetischer Signaturen

海蛇尾（棘皮目：蛇尾总科）已被确定为北极和南极海域底栖生态系统的关键要素。然而，尽管它们具有普遍的生态意义，但关于许多物种的起源，物种形成，分类地位和分布范围与生物特征（生命周期和繁殖模式）和地质历史（板块构造和气候振荡）的关系，只有很少的信息。因此，我们提出以丰富而广泛分布的蛇麻属为例进行研究，以便在进化时间尺度上协调北极、大西洋和南极物种的系统发育关系和最近的生物地理分布模式与剧烈的环境变化过程。分子方法将用于阐明(i)物种和（ii）种群水平上的遗传相似模式；各种分子遗传特征的比较分析将用于(i)推断选定物种之间的系统发育关系，以描述极地海洋的物种形成和定植过程，并解决密切相关的分类群的分类地位，以及（ii）跟踪浮游生物幼虫的扩散路线，并确定遗传上不同的种群。

Brittle stars (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) have been identified as key elements of benthic ecosystems in both Arctic and Antarctic seas. However, despite their general ecological significance, there is only scarce information for many species with respect to origin, speciation, taxonomic status and distribution range in relation to biological traits (life cycle and reproduction mode) and geological history (plate tectonics and climate oscillations). Therefore, we propose a case study on the abundant and widespread genus Ophiocten in order to reconcile patterns in phylogenetic relationship and recent biogeographic distribution of Arctic, Atlantic and Antarctic species with the course of drastic environmental changes at evolutionary time scales. Molecular methods will be applied to elucidate genetic similarity patterns at both (i) species and (ii) population level: The comparative analysis of various molecular genetic signatures will be used (i) to deduce the phylogenetic relationships between selected species in order to describe the course of speciation and colonization of polar seas and to solve the taxonomic status of closely related taxa, as well as (ii) to track the dispersal routes of meroplanktonic larvae and to identify genetically distinct populations.