REVSYS: A Systematic Framework for Understanding Jellyfish Blooms and Invasive Species: Taxonomy of Semaeostome Scyphomedusae (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa, Samaeostomaeae)

水母数量迅速增加，即“水母繁殖”和入侵物种几乎是全球沿海海洋生态系统退化的代名词。因此，它们受到了媒体对水母的大部分关注。尽管如此，对水母繁殖和入侵物种的理解受到严重阻碍，因为物种往往无法可靠地识别。该项目将发展基于DNA分析的物种鉴定的定量和统计方法。目标是：(1)生成一种强大的方法来识别水母物种；(2)使生物学家、教育工作者、学生和资源管理者能够访问该方法和结果数据，以便在实验室、教室和现场进行准确的识别。除了为引起水母繁殖的物种提供可靠的识别工具外，该项目还将建立一个进化框架，用于解释生物对环境扰动的反应，包括全球气候变化和物种引入。将通过一个网站提供工具和综合方法、数据和分析，通过协助沿海生态系统和渔业的管理以及促进海洋知识普及，进一步造福社会。该项目将通过加州大学默塞德分校研究生和本科生的研究经历，以及针对加州中央山谷农村学区的推广和教育计划，增加少数民族对科学的参与。

Rapid increases in jellyfish abundance, i.e. 'jellyfish blooms', and invasive species are almost synonymous with global degradation of coastal marine ecosystems. As such, they receive most of the media attention given to jellyfish. Despite this high profile, understanding of jellyfish blooms and invasive species is severely hindered because species often cannot be reliably identified. This project will develop quantitative and statistical approaches to species identification based on DNA analyses. The goals are to (1) generate a robust approach to jellyfish species identification and (2) make the approach and resulting data accessible to biologists, educators, students, and resource managers for accurate identifications in the laboratory, classroom, and field. In addition to reliable identification tools for species causing jellyfish blooms, this project will establish an evolutionary framework for interpreting biotic responses to environmental perturbations, including global climate change and species introductions. Tools and a synthesis of methods, data, and analyses will be made available via a website, further benefiting society by aiding in management of coastal ecosystems and fisheries and by contributing to ocean literacy. The project will increase minority participation in science through graduate and undergraduate research experiences at UC Merced and through outreach and education initiatives targeting school districts in California's rural Central Valley.