NSF awards University of Richmond biologists $289,729 grant for research on evolutionary relationships among sponges
September 16, 2008
The National Science Foundation has awarded University of Richmond biologists April and Malcolm Hill a three-part, five-year $289,729 grant to lead collaborative research with colleagues at four other universities into evolutionary relationships among sponges found around the world.
"Assembling the Tree of Life: The Porifera Tree of Life Project" will provide summer support for the husband-wife team and several undergraduate student researchers each year, plus materials and supplies. The Hills also will host a conference and workshop at Richmond during the third year of the grant.
Thousands of different species of sponges live in the world's oceans and fresh water habitats. These animals produce a diversity of potential new medicines, hold important clues regarding the evolution of all animals and perform vital ecological roles in their habitats. Little is known about the evolutionary relationships among the various sponge species or the position of the Porifera in the animal lineage. The grant will fund the collection of molecular genetic data taken from 8,000 sponge specimens and to improve the understanding of all aspects of sponge biology.
Project collaborators include scientists at Iowa State University, Nova Southern University, the Smithsonian Museum, Dartmouth College, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Additionally, several international collaborators from Germany, Australia, Netherlands and Columbia are taking part in the project.