IRES Track II: International Training to Understand the Relationships of Non-Bilaterian Animals

Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

This project will train 24 US graduate students over 3 years in the study of the biodiversity of invertebrate animals. This project will contribute significantly to enhancing expertise and developing the next generation of researchers studying sponges, jellyfish, comb jellies, corals, and sea anemones. These animals are key to understanding the origin of animals and they also play vital roles in marine ecosystems. A series of 3 workshops held in Panama will allow international experts to train these US graduate students and some foreign students in the methods used to collect, identify, and understand these fragile organisms. Staging this training at a field station with access to highly diverse marine habitats will ensure that trainees gain exposure to the greatest diversity of animals and habitats possible. Trainees will become proficient in the skills necessary to document biodiversity, and some trainees will be involved in describing new species. Such skills are vital for providing data for conservation decisions and for various aspects of biosecurity. The project will provide follow-up, in-depth international research training for 6 US trainees. This project will address the current shortage of researchers skilled in applying taxonomic and systematic methods to sponges, jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones. The overarching goal of this project is to train the next generation of researchers working on sponges, jellyfish, comb jellies and corals by exposing them to tropical biodiversity and by focusing on the methods and approaches that can help resolve the relationships within and among these groups of animals. Conceptually, this project focuses on two major challenges in understanding biodiversity: (1) documenting global biodiversity and (2) determining the relationships within and among animal groups. Taxonomy, the science of finding, describing and naming organisms, is vital to all biological research and to understanding and conserving biodiversity. The on-going effort to survey, inventory, and preserve the ocean's biological diversity is threatened by a shortage of taxonomic expertise. This project will train taxonomic experts in these groups who can document biodiversity, apply novel methods to help resolve the relationships between these groups, and ultimately understand the origins of animal life. This effort will also promote conservation of marine animals, which are poorly documented compared to terrestrial organisms. This project will support three 21-day workshops in 2019, 2020 and 2021, mixing US and international experts and trainees at a tropical field station in Panama. These workshops will (1) train participants in methods for identification; (2) include in-depth lectures and discussion on information and data relevant to understanding phylogenetic relationships among the groups; (3) broaden trainee perspectives on each group by providing hands-on experience with tropical diversity and meaningful interactions with diverse international colleagues; (4) build lasting international collaborations to promote US biodiversity research and improve accessibility to international field locations. Each workshop will follow a common framework and will share parts of the curriculum common to the 3 groups. Outstanding trainees will experience a follow-on experience with additional in-depth training in an international laboratory. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.