ARTS: Overcoming the nematode taxonomic impediment through integration of novel tools for species discovery and phylogeny: Cephaloboidea as a case-study

人类的生存依赖于土壤、土壤生物及其过程;这些是维持环境系统、农业和人类福祉的基础。 微型线虫是土壤系统的关键组成部分：它们在物种多样性方面无与伦比，通常在少数土壤中有数千个个体。 令人惊讶的是，大多数线虫物种仍然隐藏在科学中，即未被发现和命名;它们的物种特异性环境作用通常没有被理解到有助于定义，理解和维持健康生态系统的水平。 该项目将开发新的DNA/显微镜技术，以实施新的，有效的，节省成本的方法来发现和描述线虫物种，包括进化和生态关系。 加州的一片沙漠将成为开发这些工具的实验地，但应用和效益是全球性的。大幅改进线虫识别工具将支持土壤生态学家和其他生物学家更广泛的目标，即了解生物多样性和土壤生态系统，造福人类。通过开发为非专业人员设计的在线识别辅助工具以及教学工具，扩大了影响。该项目将培养一名研究生和几名本科生。通过小型学院合作，它将为少数民族女学生提供研究经验。 将为5-12年级开发涉及土壤的新的教学工具和培训方法。

Human existence depends on soil, soil organisms and their processes; these are basic to sustaining environmental systems, agriculture and human well-being. Microscopic nematodes are a key component to soil systems: they are unmatched in species diversity, often with thousands of individuals in a handful of soil. Surprisingly, most nematode species remain hidden to science i.e. undiscovered and un-named; their species-specific environmental roles are generally not understood at a level useful to define, understand and sustain healthy ecosystems. This project will develop new DNA/microscopy technology to implement novel, efficient, cost-saving approaches to nematode species discovery and description, including evolutionary and ecological relationships. A California desert will be the experimental site for developing these tools, but the application and benefits are global.Dramatically improving nematode identification tools will support soil ecologists and other biologists in the broader goals of understanding biological diversity and soil ecosystems for the benefit of humanity. The impact is broadened by developing online identification aids designed for non-specialists as well as for teaching tools. The project will train a graduate student and several undergraduates. Through small college collaboration it will provide research experience for female minority students. New instructional tools and training approaches involving soils will be developed for grades 5-12.