NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biology FY 2020: Morphology, kinematics and evolution of Eunicidan annelid jaws

本行动资助美国国家科学基金会2020年度生物学博士后研究奖学金，利用生物馆藏进行研究。该奖学金支持研究和培训将以创新的方式利用生物收集的研究员。有颌环节动物是一个多样化的古老群体，其中包括著名的“击沙虫”，在海洋中扮演着捕食者、猎物和食腐动物的重要角色。这些蠕虫的分类是基于它们的颚结构。然而，在饮食相似的非亲属动物中，颌骨和牙齿结构往往相似。该项目的目的是确定饮食或亲缘关系是否能更好地预测环节动物的下颌结构。该项目使用DNA测序和CT扫描博物馆标本来追踪环节动物颌形随时间的演变。下颚功能将研究使用视频观察下颚运动在活的蠕虫。这项研究通过将颌骨形状与未被充分研究的动物群体的功能联系起来，推进了科学知识的发展，并将为预测现存和已灭绝海洋群落的生态系统功能提供基础。在这个项目中产生的视频和3D模型将作为K-12和大学教师的教育资源发布在网上。这些资源也将包括在海豚岛海洋实验室河口水族馆的海洋蠕虫公众展览和外展活动中。本项目整合了系统发育背景下的形态学和功能研究，以测试有关单目动物（环节动物）颚结构形态学趋同和功能的特定假设。一个有针对性的外显子捕获方法将被用来产生一个新的系统发育与广泛的分类群和基因样本从博物馆标本。颌骨元素和相关的肌肉组织的标本将成像使用微ct。形态学特征将从三维重建中测量和编码。系统发育比较方法将用于重建祖先状态和识别形态趋同。通过观察活的代表的颚元素的运动，将颌形态与功能联系起来。将形态学与运动学相结合将有助于更好地理解环节动物颌部结构形态收敛的功能基础。对颌部结构同源性的评估也将为重新评估棘球蚴系统学中形态学特征的实用性提供依据。这项研究将在海豚岛海洋实验室进行，并利用佛罗里达自然历史博物馆广泛的标本收集和成像资源。该项目将提供系统发育、形态学、运动学和行为学方面的跨学科培训，并拓宽研究员作为博物馆科学家进行综合收藏研究的技能。该项目还将包括无脊椎动物运动学研究方面的本科生培训。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This action funds an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY 2020, Research Using Biological Collections. The fellowship supports research and training of the fellow that will utilize biological collections in innovative ways. Jawed annelids, a diverse and ancient group which includes the famous “sand-striker” worm, play important roles as predators, prey, and scavengers in the ocean. The classification of these worms is based on their jaw structures. However, jaw and tooth structures are often similar in unrelated animals with similar diets. The goal of this project is to determine whether diet or relatedness better predicts jaw structure in annelids. The project uses DNA sequencing and CT scanning of museum specimens to trace the evolution of jaw shape in annelids over time. Jaw function will be studied using video observations of jaw motion in live worms. This research advances scientific knowledge by linking jaw shape with function in an understudied group of animals and will provide a basis for predicting ecosystem function in both living and extinct marine communities. The videos and 3D models generated during this project will be published online as educational resources for K-12 and university instructors. These resources will also be included in a public exhibit on marine worms at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab Estuarium, and at outreach events.This project integrates studies of morphology and function in a phylogenetic context to test specific hypotheses concerning morphological convergence and function in eunicidan (Annelida) jaw structures. A targeted exon capture approach will be used to generate a new phylogeny of Eunicida with broad taxon and gene sampling from museum specimens. The jaw elements and associated musculature of the specimens will be imaged using microCT. Morphological characters will be measured and coded from 3D reconstructions. Phylogenetic comparative methods will be used to reconstruct ancestral states and identify morphological convergences. Jaw morphology will be related to function through observation of the movements of jaw elements in living representatives. Integrating morphology with kinematics will provide a better understanding of the functional basis of morphological convergences in annelid jaw structures. Assessing the homology of jaw structures will also provide a basis for re-evaluating the utility of morphological characters used in Eunicidan systematics. This research will be conducted at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and utilizes the extensive specimen collections and imaging resources at the Florida Museum of Natural History. This project will provide interdisciplinary training in phylogenetics, morphology, kinematics, and behavior and broaden the fellow's skill set for conducting integrative collections-based research as a museum scientist. The project will also include undergraduate training in kinematic research on invertebrates.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.