9521930 SCHELTEMA Members of the class Aplacophora are a group of worm-like, marine Mollusks living at great depths in association with deep-sea thermal vents. There are about 300 described species and an estimate of possibly another 600 species to be described as part of this study. These organisms have been little studied, in part because of the difficulty in obtaining specimens. Dr. Amelie Scheltema has assembled some 20,000 specimens obtained from about 60 surveys and expeditions. She is one of only three taxonomic specialists, all of whom are nearing retirement, who study these organisms, and she is the only one in the western hemisphere. She will contribute to the need for training a next generation of systematists by advising and working with both undergraduate and graduate students as well as a postdoctoral associate(s). The efforts of Dr. Scheltema and her trainees will result in both published monographic treatment of the class Aplacophora and information available in electronic form. She will be assisted by malacological colleagues who are developing standards for databasing of taxonomic information for the Phylum Mollusca. This study will contribute to our very limited knowledge of the biological diversity of marine invertebrate organisms. Recent pharmacological prospecting efforts suggest that these little studied marine creatures may be rich resources for natural product chemicals that may be turned to utilities for human life ranging from anesthetics to antibiotic, antiviral and antitumor drugs. In addition to providing knowledge of the relationships among aplacophoran taxa, the results of this study should shed light on ancient relationships of diverse groups of multicellular animals and provide a basis for further studies involving the population biology, ecology, biogeography, etc. of these animals.
