In this project, a large team of investigators will resolve evolutionary relationships within the bivalves (clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, etc.). Bivalves are a diverse and familiar group of mollusks with an old and well-preserved fossil record. Bivalves have important ecological roles in marine and freshwater ecosystems, and economic roles including fisheries, the ornament industry, and health sciences. Bivalves are the second largest class of living mollusks, which in turn constitute the second largest animal phylum and the largest in the marine realm. The evolutionary history and relationships of bivalves will be investigated through a fresh look at bivalve anatomy in combination with study of selected DNA markers for the same species investigated morphologically. This international team of investigators will assemble morphological and molecular phylogenetic data at levels of detail never before attempted. Outreach activities will engage various audiences in the project's results and in evolutionary science as a whole.
This project presents an excellent opportunity for outreach to communicate the concepts of evolution, and this team of researchers is well-placed to accomplish this. Museum exhibits and instructional materials using bivalves will be developed for K-12 teachers and their students, post-secondary teachers and their students, and the general public, in the form of a traveling exhibit ("Evolution on the Half-Shell") and associated teaching materials.
