Intellectual Merit - This study will develop a phylogeny and classification for the fishes of the Order Cypriniformes, the largest group of entirely freshwater fishes in the world with 3,285 described, and as many as 2,600 undescribed species. This group contains the minnows, suckers, loaches, river loaches and algae eaters. Many of these fishes have economic and scientific importance. Several large carp are an important protein source in Asia, and paradoxically, are nuisance, invasive species in North America. The zebrafish is a model organism for developmental biologists; the fathead minnow is used as an indicator species in environmental work; and goldfish are widely studied by physiologists. Many species are kept by aquarists, a hobby that has vast educational and economic impacts. Our project is international in scope with 27 collaborators, including some of the most prominent cypriniform systematists from across the globe. The group includes paleontologists, neontologists, developmental biologists, and molecular systematists. We will develop phylogenies using genomic data for a set of nuclear and mitochondrial genes, including a subset of complete mitochondrial genomes as well as morphological data from fossil and extant species.
Broader Impacts - The phylogeny, including the developmental information, will broaden the scope of work based on the zebrafish and other model species, and will produce a stable classification. We will describe new species, expanding our understanding of biodiversity. Our study has significant broader impacts beyond pure research with student education in systematics, evolution, biodiversity, development, and morphology, international collaboration, and critical information on model organisms like the zebrafish, fathead minnow, and goldfish. The prncipal and co-principal investigators reresent a diverse group of scientists at many career stages (2 of 10 are female; 2 of 10 are minorities; 2 of 10 have physical disabilities; 5 of 10 are new investigators) and come from diverse institutions (3 private universities and 4 public universities; 4 of the institutions are in EPSCoR jurisdictions). A NOVA television program will be produced and public meetings will be held. Information will be disseminated via a project web portal (http://bio.slu.edu/mayden/cypriniformes/projects.html) as well as conventional scientific publication.
With an estimated 3,285 described species and more than 2,000 species undescribed, Cypriniformes (e.g., "minnows", "carps") is the most diverse group of freshwater fishes on the planet. Mainly found in northern hemisphere and absent in southern continents such as South America and Australia, their greatest diversity is found in Southeastern Asia. Their economic impact is high because they are a food source and play a role in the aquarium trade. This project was formulated to increase our knowledge, both in the scientific community as well as the general public, of the evolutionary history of Cypriniformes. This is an important goal because Cypriniformes play a significant role in freshwater ecosystems. It also aimed to increase opportunities, education, and training for young scientists with special attention for minority candidates. The overall goal of this project was to resolve the evolutionary relationships of cypriniform fishes through the gathering of morphological and molecular data from more than 1,000 species. The purpose was to target higher-level relationships and develop a backbone phylogeny that will permit scientists to pursue species-level phylogenies of this extraordinary diverse group. This was an international collaborative project, under the leadership of Dr. Richard Mayden. Seven principal investigators from various universities in the USA and numerous collaborators worldwide participated with many accomplishments. In this portion of the multi-investigator project that I am reporting on, the objectives were to examine morphological variation in a select number of extant species and available fossils to determine the evolutionary history of the group and to establish possible age of divergence of the group and its major lineages. Another objective of this project was to examine developmental series of different species representing different major groups of these fishes for determination of homology of bony structures. Several hypotheses of relationships within Cypriniformes were proposed by the team of PIs based on molecular evidence. Our morphological investigations partially agreed with those results. For me, the most rewarding portion of this study was that while revising the morphology of the cypriniforms, I discovered anatomical features that have never been described before. These discoveries led me to go back and review other teleostean subgroups and propose some new characters. These new discoveries about cypriniforms led to changes in previous concepts and interpretations of teleosts and other high taxonomic levels within actinopterygians (‘ray-finned’ fishes). The study of the early development of the vertebrae in cypriniforms revealed major results. For instance, not all cypriniforms share the same kind of vertebra formation, especially in the caudal region. This turned out to be a major finding because it provides numerous characters supporting hypotheses of relationships (and homology) within certain cypriniform subgroups (e.g., families). Because of these results, other scientists are currently examining the vertebra formation in many different fishes that are not cypriniforms. It has opened up a new field of investigation. I am impressed by the great morphological variation of cypriniforms and the challenges that interpretating such a diversity poses to a researcher. Because of this, I am very interested in continuing my investigations into this group in order to learn more about its evolutionary history and diversification. In summary, the findings of this work provide: (1) Morphological characters that help clarify the relationships of the Cypriniformes. (2)Knowledge in the fields of evolutionary morphology, taxonomy, and phylogenetic systematic of fishes (e.g., new characters and interpretations of opercular bones, formation of the vertebrae, fin rays, and caudal (tail) skeleton). (3) Knowledge that extends beyond Cypriniformes and extends to other groups of the ray-finned fishes within the Actinopterygii. (4) New insights into the origin and early diversification of the highly speciose Cypriniformes. There were other accomplishments in this project. I published 18 papers in scientific journals and books and I have two papers in press or submitted. Ten manuscripts are currently in preparation relating to the objectives of the grant. I presented 36 oral presentations and posters at professional national and international meetings and I was invited to 14 symposia and was the/or a keynote speaker (9). Per invitation to other countries (e.g., Argentina, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Poland, Spain), I collaborated in special projects addressing improvements in education, professional trainings in fish systematics, morphology, and ontogenetic development. These collaborative activities included research projects, which advised and advanced women in science and special evaluation and development guidelines of scientific research lines for implementation in other countries in the near future. I also collaborated in the development of the zebrafish (cypriniform Danio rerio) anatomical ontologies and in the teleostean anatomical ontologies (TAO) within the frame of Phenoscape. Five undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Kansas and five graduate students abroad were trained in topics related to fish systematics, morphology, and paleontology under my supervision. Websites : www.cypriniformes.org www.people.ku.edu/~garratia/ PI: Gloria Arratia
