The inability to identify marine invertebrate larvae to the species level is a common stumbling block to many field studies of larval ecology. Larvae within taxonomic groups such as barnacles, bivalves, and starfish are often so morphologically similar between species that no identification to the species level is possible based on appearance. Though research is underway on several novel techniques for identification of larvae, none has solved the problem as yet. In contrast, identification of larvae using mitochondrial DNA is a method that exists right now, and with a little development can be used for screening large numbers of larvae. Drs. Olson & Kocher have already used mtDNA technology for identifying sea cucumber larvae. Now they will, 1) develop methods for screening large numbers of larvae using genetic probes, 2) establish a mtDNA sequence database for deep sea echinoderm species, and 3) utilize the techniques to answer questions about the vertical location of deep sea echinoderm larvae. They will work on echinoderms because they are a phylum for which there exists substantial mtDNA sequence data already and the universal PCR primers are known to work well for them. However, the methods developed will be applicable to all marine invertebrate larvae.
