The Systematic Significance of Body Wall Formation During the Metamorphosis of Gymnolaemate Bryozoans

苔藓虫是一种群居无脊椎动物，拥有丰富的化石记录，可以追溯到5亿年前。它们的分类传统上是基于群体内成虫的形态以及新个体在群体内起源和生长的方式。首席研究员里德研究了几种现代水螅虫物种的胚胎学发育，并发现了与公认分类存在争议的证据。他建议对代表8个不同科2目的物种进行胚胎学研究，并将结果与基于传统特征的分类进行比较。这项工作将为苔藓虫之间更高层次的进化关系提供急需的见解，并将提供一种评估当前分类的方法。拟议的项目也将作为弥合无脊椎胚胎学和系统学之间差距的典范。

Bryozoa are colonial invertebrates with a rich fossil record extending back 500 million years. Their classification has traditionally been based on the morphology of adults within the colony and on the ways in which new individuals originate and grow within the colony. Principal Investigator Reed has studied the embryological development of several modern species of byrozoa, and has found evidence that disputes the accepted classification. He proposes to investigate the embryology of species representing eight different families and two orders, and compare the resulting classification with that based on traditional characters. The proposed work would provide much-needed insight into the higher-level evolutionary relationships among bryozoa, and would provide a means of evaluating the current classification. The proposed project would also serve as a model for bridging the gap between invertebrate embryology and systematics.