REF Activities 2000-2001
National Science Foundation
Cell Biology "The Ancient Innate Immune System in Sea Urchins" $417,315 (C. Smith)U.S. Department of Justice
Supplement:
ROA, Margaret Stevens, Ripon College, Co-I (sabbatical leave), June-Dec, 2001 "The ancient immune system in sea urchins - investigations of cell surface receptors and clotting factors" $14,997 (C. Smith)
Research Coordination Network (RCN-0090283): "Deep Time" A Comprehensive Phylogenetic Tree of Living and Fossil Angiosperms. P.I.s: D. Soltis, P. Soltis, P. Herendeen, D. Dilcher. $498,829.
Division of Biological Infrastructure. Scanning Electron Microscope for Systematic Biology G. Hormiga; PI & P. Herendeen, D. Lipscomb, J. Clark, D. Lieberman, Co-PIs, $118,274
PEET: Bringing the Phylum Nemertea and Its Taxonomy into the 20th and 21st Centuries by Means of Morphological and Molecular Phylogenetic Studies and Electronic Media. $749,975 (D.Lipscomb)
PEET: Monographic Research on Araneoid Spider Systematics. $415,480 (G. Hormiga)Forensic identification of mtDNA SNPs for Federal Bureau of Investigation, Visiting Scientist Program, $15,120 (M.Allard).National Geographic Society
Systematics and Biogeography of the Radiation of Hawaiian Labulla Spiders. G. Hormiga $22,654.Dinosaurs of the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China. J. Clark $19,100.
D.C. Water Resources Management Division
Taxonomic identification of plankton and benthic samples collected by the District of ColumbiaLink Foundation
($72,780) (R. Knowlton)
Independent research on nemertean development at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, FL. (transportation, lodging and food, S. Maslakova)Roosevelt Fund (American Museum of Natural History)
($1000).(M. Malia)OTS-Costa Rica
Tuition, Room and board to attend OTS Tropical Biology course in Costa Rica (January-February 2001) (I. Agnarsson)Gates Millinium Scholarship for Minority Students
($18,500) (K. Herrman)Hillmer Sallee Fund
Student participation in a dinosaur expedition to China ($5,000) (J. Clark)Searching for spiders in Madagascar ($8,000) (I. Agnarsson, M. Kuntner)
George Washington University
George Washington University Junior Scholar Award, 2000, 2001. (P. Herendeen)University Facilitating Fund, "Dinosaurs Along The Silk Road - A Paleontological Expedition to the Junggar Basin, Western China" ($10,905) (J. Clark)Pending:
Field research grant, Explorers Club Washington Exploration and Field Research Grant. (K. Herrman)Submitted:
National Science Foundation:
Research and Educational Applications for High-End Parallel Processing in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geography. Briscoe (PI), Vertes, Allard, Lipscomb and Fuller (Co-PIs, plus 4 senior investigators and 3 participants). Information Technology preproposal $15,000,000.
Systematics of the Insectivora based on a synthesis of molecular and morphological evidence. Allard and Asher (Co-PI) National Science Foundation, Systematic Biology, DEB001086059 $255,230.
Implementation of a Beowolf Class Cluster for the analysis of large data sets. National Science Foundation, Information Technology Research, ACS/EWF $493,000 (Co-Pi L. Murphy, M. Allard, and G. O'Rielly).
UMEB: Undergraduate Research in Systematics and Evolution. National Science Foundation, UMEB undergraduate minority training grant, $271,750 (Co-Pi D. Lipscomb, M. Allard).
PUBLICATIONSPEER REVIEWED
Agnarsson, I. 2000. Adansonia is a Baobab tree, not a theridiid spider. Journal of Arachnology, 28:351-352.
Allard, M. W., S. D. Baker, G. Emerson, J. Ottenwalder, and C. W. Kilpatrick. 2001. Characterization of the mitochondrial control region in Solenodon paradoxus and the implications for biogeography, systematics, and conservation managment. Pp. 329-332 in C. A. Woods (ed.). Biogeography of the West Indies: New Patterns and Perspectives. CRC Press LLC, New York.
Clark, J.M., H.-D. Sues, and D. Berman 2000. A new specimen of Hesperosuchus agilis from the Upper Triassic of New Mexico and the inter-relationships of basal crocodylomorph archosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 20:683-704.
Clark, J.M., M. Norell, and R. Barsbold. 2001 Two new oviraptorids (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria), Upper Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21:209-213.
Clow, L.A., P.S. Gross, C.-S. Shih & L.C. Smith. 2000. Expression of SpC3, the sea urchin complement component, in response to lipopolysaccharide. Immunogenetics, 51:1021-1033.
Burns, J. R., S. H. Weitzman, L. R. Malabarba and A. D. Meisner. 2000. Sperm modifications in inseminating ostariophysan fishes, with new documentation of inseminating species, p. 255. In: Proc. Sixth Inter. Symp. Reprod. Physiol. Fish. B. Norberg, O.S. Kjesbu, G.L. Taranger, E. Andersson and S.O. Stefansson (Eds.). Inst. Mar. Res. and Univ. Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Gross, P.S., L.A. Clow & L.C. Smith. 2000. SpC3, the complement homologue from the purple sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is expressed in two subpopulations of the phagocytic coelomocytes. Immunogenetics, 51:1034-1044.
Herendeen, P. S. and A. Bruneau, Editors. 2000. Advances in legume systematics, part 9. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Herendeen, P. S. 2000. Structural evolution in Caesalpinioideae. In P. S. Herendeen and A. Bruneau, Editors. Advances in legume systematics, part 9, pp. 45-64. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Herendeen, P. S. and R. B. Miller. 2000. The application of wood anatomical characters in cladistic phylogenetic analyses. IAWA Journal 21: 247-276.
Herendeen, P. S. and B. F. Jacobs. 2000. Fossil Legumes from the Middle Eocene (46.0 Ma) Mahenge Flora, Singida, Tanzania. American Journal of Botany 87: 1358-1366.
Herendeen, P. S. 2000. In search of the first flowers. Newton. Graphic Science Magazine 20(1): 96-103. [in Japanese]
Hormiga, G. and J. Coddington. 2001. Patrones filogenéticos de dimorfismo sexual de tamaño en las arañas tejedoras de telas orbiculares (Araneae, Orbiculariae). In "Enfoques contemporáneos para el estudio de la biodiversidad," H.M. Hernández, A.N. Gracía Aldrete, F. Alvarez & M. Ulloa, Eds., Fondo Universitario de Cultura, UNAM, Mexico, pp. 149-168.
Hormiga, G. 2000. Higher level phylogenetics of erigonine spiders (Araneae, Linyphiidae, Erigoninae). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, 609:1-160.
Hormiga, G. 2000. Review of F. Punzo, 1998, "The Biology of Camel-Spiders (Arachnida, Solifugae)." Systematic Biology 49(3):613-614.
Hormiga, G., N. Scharff, and J. Coddington. 2000. The Phylogenetic Basis of Sexual Size Dimorphism in Orb-Weaving Spiders (Araneae, Orbiculariae). Systematic Biology, 49(3):435-462.
Kuntner, M. and G. Hormiga (submitted). The African spider genus Singafrotypa Benoit 1962 (Araneae, Araneoidea, Araneidae). Journal of Arachnology. 21 ms. pp., 8 figs.
Kuntner, M. & R. Kostanjšek. 2000. Prispevek k poznavanju favne pajkov zahodneSlovenije (Arachnida: Araneae). - English summary and tables - Natura Sloveniae, 2(1):13-28.
Magallón, S., P. S. Herendeen, and P. R. Crane. In Press. Floral diversity in Hamamelidoideae (Hamamelidaceae): Androdecidua endressi gen. et sp. nov. from the late Santonian (Late Cretaceous) of Georgia, U.S.A. International Journal of Plant Sciences.
Maslakova, S.A. & J. L. Norenburg "Phylogenetic Study of Pelagic Nemerteans (Pelagica, Polistilifera)". Hydrobiologia. Accepted in March, 2001.
Maslakova S. A. & J. L. Norenburg. "Taxonomic revision of the family Armaueriidae (Pelagica, Polistilifera). (In prep.)
Meisner, A. D., J. R. Burns and M. J. Ghedotti. 2000. Mode of embryonic nutrition in four species of Jenynsia (Teleostei: Atherinomorpha: Anablepidae), p. 178. . In: Proc. Sixth Inter. Symp. Reprod. Physiol. Fish. B. Norberg, O.S. Kjesbu, G.L. Taranger, E. Andersson and S.O. Stefansson (Eds.). Inst. Mar. Res. and Univ. Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Meisner, A. D., J. R. Burns, S. H. Weitzman and L R. Malabarba. 2000. Morphology and histology of the male reproductive system of two species of internally inseminating South American catfishes, Trachelyopterus lucenai and T. galeatus (Teleostei: Auchenipteridae). Journal of Morphology 246:131-141.
Merchant, H. C., R. N. Khan, and R. E. Knowlton, 2001. The effect of macrophytic cover on survival of Palaemonetes pugio and P. vulgaris (grass shrimp) in the presence of predatory Fundulus heteroclitus (killifish). Contributions to Zoology: 70: (in press)
Norell, M.N., J. Clark, and L. Chiappe. 2001. An embryonic oviraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. American Museum Novitates 3315: 1-17.
Scherabon, B., B. Gantenbein, V. Fet, M. Barker, M. Kuntner & D. Huber. 2000. A new species of scorpion from Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia: Euscorpius gamma Caporiacco, 1950, stat. nov. (Scorpiones: Euscorpiidae). In Gajdos P., Pekár S. (eds): Proceedings of the 18th European Colloquium of Arachnology, Stará Lesná, 1999. Ekológia (Bratislava), Vol. 19 (Supplement 3):253-262.
Shevchuk, N. and M. W. Allard. 2001. Sources of incongruence among mammalian mitochondrial sequences: COII, COIII, and ND6 genes are main contributors. In press, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evol.
Thollesson M., J. Norenburg, A. Rogers, S. Maslakova, M.Schwartz and J. Ferraris. "Molecular phylogenetic analysis of the phylum Nemertea". (In preparation).
Turano, F., G. R. Panta, M. W. Allard, and P. Van Berkum. 2001. The putative glutamate receptors from plants are related to two superfamilies of animal neurotransmitter receptors via distinct evolutionary mechanisms. In press, Molecular Biology and Evolution.
Xing Xu, X.-J. Zhao, and J.M. Clark. 2001 A New Therizinosaur from the Lower Jurassic Lower Lufeng Formation of Yunnan, China. In press, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
BOOK CHAPTERS
Chernyshev A. V. and S. A. Maslakova. Nemertini. In: Opredelitel’ po faune bespozvonochnyh severnyh i arkticheskih morej Rossii. ZIN. RAN. Sankt-Petersburg. 13 plates. (Nemertini. In: The Identification Key for the Fauna of Invertebrates of Northern and Arctic Seas of Russia). (In review).
Roe, P., J. L. Norenburg and S. A. Maslakova. Nemertea. Pp. xxx-xxx in J. T. Carlton, ed., The Light and Smith Manual. Fourth Edition. (In review).
INIVITED REVIEWSSmith, L.C., L.A. Clow & D.P. Terwilliger 2001. The ancestral complement system in sea urchins. Immunological Reviews, in press.
Smith, L.C. 2000. The complement system in sea urchins. In Phylogenetic Perspectives on the Vertebrate Immune Systems. (G. Beck, M. Sugumaran, E. Cooper, eds.) Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishing Co. pp. 363-372.
MEETING REVIEWSmith, L.C., C. Baier-Anderson, L.A. Clow, D.P. Terwilliger & C. Adema. 2000. Meeting Review: Mid Atlantic Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology. Developmental and Comparative Immunology, 24:71-77.
BOOK REVIEWSmith, L.C. 2001. Review of "Origin and Evolution of the Vertebrate Immune System". (L. Du Pasquier & G.W. Litman, eds.) Quarterly Review of Biology 76:79.
PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS AND INSTITUTIONS
Conferences and SymposiaAgnarsson, I. (talk) and J. Miller (talk) attended and presented at the American Arachnological Society Congress in June 2000 (University of Kentucky).
Allard, M.:Allard, M. W., S. D. Baker, G. Emerson, J. Ottenwalder, and C. W. Kilpatrick. Characterization of the mitochondrial control region in Solenodon paradoxus and the implications for biogeography, systematics and conservation managment (Poster). Presented at Conservation Genetics in the Age of Genomics, jointly sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History's Center for Biodiversity and Conservation and the Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society.
Asher R.J., Allard M.W., and Emerson G.L. "Morphology, DNA, and the insectivora: A grade or a clade?". 6th International Congress of Vertebrate Morphology, University of Jena, Germany, July 2001
Emerson, G.E. and M.W. Allard (poster). Molecular systematics of Insectivora based on a large data set of 12S rRNA gene sequences from 264 mammalian taxa. Willi Hennig Society XIX, National Museum of natural History, Leiden, Nederland.
Allen, B. "Identification of Beaked Whales Using Mandibular Measurements", Southeast and Mid-Atlantic Marine Mammal Symposium, 30 March - 1 April, Duke Marine Lab.
Burns, J.R.:2000, 14-20 June, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Burns, J. R., A. D. Meisner, S. H. Weitzman and L. R. Malabarba, "Sperm and spermatozeugma ultrastructure in the inseminating auchenipterid catfish, Trachelyopterus lucenai
2000, 14-20 June, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Meisner, A. D., J. R. Burns, S. H. Weitzman and L. R. Malabarba, "Exploring use of reproductive characters in the phylogenetic analysis of the genera of the subfamilies Glandulocaudinae and Cheirodontinae."
2000, 14-20 June, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Annual meeting of the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Bushmann, P. J., J. R. Burns and S. H. Weitzman, "Gill glands in glandulocaudine fishes (Teleostei: Characidae: Glandulocaudinae)."
Clark, J., M. Norell and R. Barsbold, "Two new oviraptorid theropod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Djadokhta Formation, Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia." Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting, Mexico City, October 28, 2000
Clark, J., Symposium co-Organizer, "Missing Data: Practical Problems and Theoretical Issues," Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting, Mexico City, October 25, 2000.
Hormiga (1 talk), Agnarsson (1 talk), Miller (1 talk) and Kuntner attended the 2000 Systematic Biology meeting (Bloomington, Indiana University) where they gave presentations.
Hormiga (3 talks, 1 poster), Agnarsson (1 talk, 1 poster), and Kuntner (1 talk, 1 poster) attended the 2001 International Congress of Arachnology in South Africa.
Hottenrott, S.I.: A phylogenetic analysis of the Ophiolepididae (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea) with an evaluation of the origin of its deep-sea members. 9th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium, Galway, Ireland, June 2000.
Kearney, M.: Missing data, ambiguity, and consensus trees. Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting, Mexico City, October 25, 2000.
Maslakova, S.:January 4-8, 2001 Annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Oral presentation "Remains of pilidium in direct developing nemerteans?".
June 12-19, 2000 5th International Conference on Nemertean Biology (Alcala-de-Henares, Spain). Oral presentation "Phylogenetic study of Pelagic Nemerteans (Pelagica, Polistilifera)".
January 4-8, 2000 Annual meeting of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology Poster presentation "Hidden Larva of the nemertean order Hoplonemertea".
Smith, L.C.: International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology, Eighth Congress. Cairns Australia, July 2-6, 2000. "SpC3, the Sea Urchin Complement Component Homologous to Vertebrate C3, Undergoes Autolysis and may be Regulated through Controlled Degradation."
Session Co-Chair, Evolution of the Complement System. (invited presentation)
Turano, Frank J., Ganesh R. Panta,1 Marc W. Allard, and Peter van Berkum Genetic and pharmacological evidence for the presence of GABA-like receptors in Arabidopsis thaliana. American Society of Plant Physiologists and the Canadian Society of Plant Physiologists. Providence, Rhode Island, July
Seminars at InstitutionsM. Allard: Mammalian molecular systematics: Searching for the closest relative to the Primates. Department of Anatony, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore MD.
Testing congruence among linked genes and multigene families. Food and Drug Admin. Department of Food Saftey.
Determining Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms for forensic identification using phylogenetic analysis. DNA Unit II Laboratory, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Head Quarters, Washington DC. Also, Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Academy Research and Training Center, Quantico VA
Mammalian molecular systematics: Searching for the closest relative to the Primates. Department of Biology, University of Vermont, Burlington.
Mammalian molecular systematics: Searching for the closest relative to the Primates. Department of Anatomical Sciences, State University of New York, Stony Brook.
J. Clark:GWU Dept. of Biological Sciences, Feb. 9, 2000, "Nesting dinosaurs and other recent discoveries from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia"
Hood College, Frederick, MD Feb. 22, 2000, "Dinosaurs and the origin of birds"
The Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, VA Feb. 26, 2000, "Nesting dinosaurs from the Gobi Desert of Mongolia"
L.C. Smith:Ohio University, Department of Biology. Athens OH April 9, 2001. "The ancestral innate immune system in sea urchins"
Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Biochemistry. Charleston SC February 8, 2001. "The ancestral innate immune system in sea urchins"
INTERNET SITES:www.gwu.edu/~spiders/
www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Diptera/batfly/index.html
www.gwu.edu/~clade
gwis2.circ.gwu.edu/~biodl/
2001 GRADUATES
Marymegan Daly, Ph.D., "A Cladistic Analysis of the Anthozoan Family Edwardsiidae and its Relationships to the Zooantheria," D. Lipscomb advisor.
Maureen Kearney, Ph.D., "Systematics and Evolution of the Amphisbaenia (Lepidosauria:Squamata): A Phylogenetic Hypothesis Based on Morphological Evidence from Fossil and Recent Forms," J. Clark advisor.
FIELD WORK, etc.
J. Clark's Lab:Baja California, Mexico searching for amphisbaenian lizards (2 weeks, June 2000)
Gobi Desert, Mongolia in search of Cretaceous dinosaurs (5 weeks, July-August 2000)
Xinjiang, China scouting out a new field area in Jurassic deposits (3 weeks, August 2000)
Guerrero, Mexico, searching for amphisbaenian lizards (one week, January 2001)
G. Hormiga's Lab:Hawaii ( Agnarsson, Hormiga) 4 weeks April 2000 R. Knowlton:
Chile (Alvarez Padilla, Agnarsson, Hormiga, Miller) total ca. 8 weeks Nov. 2000-Jan 2001)
S Africa and Madagascar (Agnarsson, Hormiga, Kuntner) total ca. 8 weeks (March-May 2001) (includes museum visits by Kuntner)
San Salvador, Bahamas: study of biota of several conduit lakes (& other tropical ecosystems secondarily in conjunction with BISC 168: Tropical Marine Biology, e. g., coral reefs, mangrove swamps, rocky intertidal zone) Various sites along coast of Maine: collection of selected invertebrates Brunswick, GA: collection of various marine organisms by trawling (with GA Dept. of Natural Resources) Ft. Myers, FL & environs: collection and study of various marine organisms with particular attention to Palaemon floridanus (shrimp) P. Herendeen:
Singida, Tanzania- July 2000. Collecting an Eocene age fossil locality with numerous fossil legumes. With colleagues from Southern Methodist University and University of Michigan. M. Malia:
Cretaceous of the Atlantic Coastal Plain of Maryland and Virginia- various dates through the year. Cretaceous of Oklahoma and Texas- March 2000.Vermont for three months collecting mammals for molecular systematics (mostly bats, insectivores, and rodents) followed by learning new sequencing techniques for mammals at Umass. S. Maslakova:
July 5-25, 2000. Studied cell lineage techniques at Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, MA under the guidance of Dr. Mark Q. Martindale. Numerous specimens for the subsequent hystological and molecular studies collected during the field expeditions to Smithsonian Marine Station, Carrie Bow, Belize Cay (February, 2000); Kasitsna Marine Station , AL (July 25- August 5, 2000); and Bamfield Marine Station, BC, CA (August 5-15). Many species illustrated in watercolors. Currently working on cell lineage of a palaeonemertean species Carinoma tremaphoros at Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, FL. Workshops Taught:
Lipscomb, D. Phylogenetic Methods. University of California, Davis. May 2000.Other products developed:
The following products are available through our Araneoid Spider Systematics web site (www.gwu.edu/~spiders/ ):
Neotropical linyphiid spiders taxonomic catalog
Nephiline spiders bibliographic database
Online catalog of the USNM spider collection
Posted in our project web site cladograms from past and upcoming papers on spider systematics (linked to their phylogenetic databases). The database (for spiders) is more complete than the Treebase collection at Harvard.
In the near future we will post an electronic (HTML) catalog of images of all the linyphiid genera of the world (about 80% completed).
Jeremy Miller developed a new web site, www.sel.barc.usda.gov/Diptera/batfly/index.html, that is based on research he did for his OTS Tropical Biology course on the Bat Flies of La Selva (Costa Rica). This project was accomplished with the help of Marco Tschapka (University of Ulm, Germany) and F. Chris Thompson (SEL, USDA):