Our partnership centers around the taxonomic and systematic status of the poorly known and understood crustacean order Tanaidacea. Although over 820 named species comprise the Order, some published estimates suggest that this number represents less than a fourth of the extant species.
Intellectual merit. The primary goals of this partnership are to assemble existing knowledge and to provide significant new knowledge concerning the biodiversity of a poorly known but ecologically significant taxon. The intellectual products of the partnership will be: 1) the training of two doctoral students in the systematics of the group; 2) identifying morphological characters that are phylogenetically informative and suitable for use in a cladistic analysis of the group; 3) an in-depth examination of the suitability and utility of various genes for use in molecular analyses of the order by sampling broadly across the order (see attached species list) and building a molecular phylogeny of the Tanaidacea; 4) the production of a monograph on the Kalliapseudidae, one of the families of the Suborder Apseudomorpha; 5) the publication of taxonomic revisions arising from molecular phylogeny and morphological systematics, new taxa (descriptions and diagnoses of species, genera, families), and redescriptions of poorly known taxa; and 6) the Tanaidacea web site will be updated throughout the study period.
Broader Impacts. The broader merits of this project will be to train students who will gain knowledge in a core sub-discipline of biology, thus helping to assure continuity in the fields of taxonomy and systematics. This project will initiate the clarification of the arcane aspects of tanaidacean taxonomy and systematics, especially utilizing the rapidly growing tools of molecular phylogeny. Together the expertise represented by all the partners will cover both specific and broader aspects of the various types of taxonomic and systematic knowledge that is required to train a new generation of biologists in the multi-discipline approach in the taxonomy of the Tanaidacea. A partnership with the J.L. Scott Marine Education Center and Aquarium will help to educate the interested public about the existence and importance of the Tanaidacea. A static exhibit with enlarged images will be used to display these macroinvertebrates, and an educational leaflet, written in layman's terms, will be developed describing the habitat, geographical locations, nutritional requirements and the role and importance of the Tanaidacea in estuaries and oceans and in the food chain.
