![A [risqué] stack of entocytherids (Uncinocythere columbia)](../../images/research/non-molluscan-invertebrates-zoology/I_C_entos.png)
研究 at the 北卡罗莱纳州自然科学博物馆 falling under the broad umbrella of Non-Molluscan Invertebrate Zoology spans multiple units 和 laboratories, 各种各样的话题, 以及种类繁多的分类群.
小龙虾和小龙虾共生体(占星学)
Crayfishes serve as habitable l和scapes for a diversity of organisms that range in association 从偶然到机会再到义务. 非软体动物无脊椎动物单元的研究 focuses on crayfishes 和 two groups of crayfish symbionts, branchiobdellidans 和 entocytherid 介形亚纲动物. Branchiobdellidans, more commonly referred to as crayfish worms, comprise an order of leech-like annelid worms that are obligate ectosymbionts of crustaceans, primarily astacoidean (北半球)小龙虾. Ostracods of the family Entocytheridae are tiny crustaceans that also exhibit an obligate relationship with their crustacean hosts, including astacoidean 和 (南半球)拟虾纲小龙虾. Our ongoing research spans much of North America, with projects focused on the Pacific Northwest 和 Intermountain West, the Interior Plains, New 英国和美国东南部.S., the latter the global center of diversity for crayfishes, 枝齿纲和乳兽纲. Non-Molluscan Invertebrate Unit staff apply an integrative approach, combining methods from several disciplines, 和 working with a wide variety of data types. Of particular interest is the merging of molecular 和 morphometric methods to examine historical 和 contemporary dynamics within 和 among crayfish 和 symbiont species 和 communities. 这 approach makes extensive use of museum specimens, including those housed in the Non-Molluscan Invertebrate Collection at the 北卡罗莱纳州自然科学博物馆. 要了解更多关于 Non-Molluscan Invertebrate Unit 和 Collection, check out http://b-w-williams-invert.拥有.com 和 http://studyforeignlanguage.com/research-COLLECTIONSs/nonmolluscan-invertebrates- COLLECTIONS 分别.
SYSTEMATICS, HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY, AND INVASION OF MOSS 动物 (BRYOZOOLOGY)
Bryozoans (“moss animals”) are an often abundant 和 ubiquitous group of largely sessile (non-moving) colonial organisms found in freshwater, 河口, 和 marine habitats (Class Phylactolaemata = freshwater; Classes Stenolaemata 和 Gymnolaemata = marine). 梅根McCuller, 集合 Manager of Non-molluscan无脊椎动物, is primarily interested in the taxonomy 和 分类学 of Gymnolaemata. 尽管这个群体在全球都很普遍, they are often overlooked 和 the thus the scale of invasions underestimated - the status (introduced, 本地的, (或隐生的)许多物种仍然不确定. Gymnolaemate bryozoans exhibit an astounding array of growth forms: encrusting sheets, 提高了穹顶, 凝胶状物质, 爬链, 浓密的塔夫茨大学, 和 even upside-down bowl-shaped free-living forms! Because of this massive variety in forms, groups within the phylum are under continuous revision. Bryozoans can also exhibit morphological changes in response to environmental conditions, 使分类名称进一步复杂化. As the skeletons of most species are made of calcium carbonate 和 persist after death, bryozoans are an excellent group to study in paleontological, 考古, 最近的生物收藏. 除了, molecular data is sorely needed; it is estimated that only 1% of extant bryozoan species have been sequenced.
进化 & 群居昆虫生态学(昆虫学)
进化生物学 & 行为研究实验室 in the Museum’s Nature 研究 Center is interested in the behavior, communication, 和 natural history of insects with a particular focus on 群居昆虫和蚂蚁. Our work spans studies of how queens chemically signal their presence to workers to how ant societies defend themselves against disease. 我们使用的技术来自于 chemical ecology, behavioral ecology, evolution, 和 microbiology. 此外，我们的实验室积极 works with designers 和 artists to use insects 和 biology as a source of inspirational 和 innovative ideas for the human-designed environment. 要了解更多全球最大彩票网站排名的研究，请查看: http://www.adrianalansmith.com/.
LINKING THE PAST TO THE PRESENT VIA FOSSIL CRAY鱼 (PALEOASTACOLOGY)
Crayfishes comprise two superfamilies, Astacoidea 和 Parastacoidea, currently restricted to the 分别是北半球和南半球. 两种星尾亚目的现代分布 families, Astacidae 和 Cambaridae, across the Holarctic has been highly problematic for crayfish 分类学. Excluding records resulting from recent translocation, modern Astacidae are found west of the North American Continental Divide 和 in Europe, while the Cambaridae are found east of the 在东亚分裂和分裂. Identity 和 geographic distribution of fossil crayfishes blur this geographic separation, suggesting that biogeographic history of crayfishes is more complex than 以前认为. 研究人员 和 volunteers in the Paleontology Unit are working in conjunction with the Non-Molluscan Invertebrate Unit to study western North American fossil crayfishes in order to help clarify the taxonomic status of both fossil 和 extant species, 和 to aid in underst和ing historic patterns of diversification 和 radiation of crayfishes on regional 在全球范围内. Currently, we are preparing 和 examining specimens of Pliocene 种 chenoderma to evaluate its relationship to extant astacid crayfishes P. gambelii P. 富通,P. connectens 最近灭绝的 P. nigrescens 看看是否有龟类介形类和 branchiobdellidans (ectosymbionts on crayfishes) are preserved in the fossil record.