Details of Award
NERC Reference : NER/A/S/2003/00313
Origins and radiation of parasite life history strategies: resolving patterns and processes in tapeworm evolution.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr DTJ Littlewood, The Natural History Museum, Zoology
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr R Bray, The Natural History Museum, Life Sciences
- Grant held at:
- The Natural History Museum, Zoology
- Science Area:
- Marine
- Freshwater
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Terrestrial
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Science Topics:
- Population Genetics/Evolution
- Systematics & Taxonomy
- Abstract:
- We plan to investigate the evolution of parasite life cycle complexity for a ubiquitous group of organisms found in a range of habitats and in a diversity of hosts, in order to further demonstrate the important role of parasites in biodiversity. Tapeworms, with over 6000 recognized species, are metazoan parasites found in diverse organisms and habitats. They have obligate parasitic and brief free-living stages and few species of vertebrate (from fishes to mammals) escape infection of some life-cycle stage. They are flatworms, related to ectoparasitic and endoparasitic flukes, but are further specialised in that most groups, as adults, develop serial repetition of gonads and segmentation that markedly increases their reproductive output. They also possess unique morphologies adapted for attachment and transmission. Transmission strategies between life-cycle stages and their invertebrate and vertebrate hosts are also varied. By refining molecular phylogenies for the group, resolving the interrelationships of major clades and the families within the Cyclophyllidea, the most species rich order and that which has made the transition to a terrestrial existence we will have the evolutionary foundation for such a study. We wish to develop a complementary and comprehensive database that scores host associations and major life cycle features (for the first time in one unified and accessible format) in order to reveal life cycle evolution within major tapeworm groups. Working with established international experts in parasite systematics and parasite evolutionary ecology, and using a combination of modern and traditional techniques, we wish to train an evolutionary parasite ecologist/systematist in order to reveal further the diversity and importance of these components of biodiversity, and to highlight any gaps in our understanding of tapeworm life cycles. The project is founded on systematics and comparative biological (life history) data reviewed in the light of evolution, but the proposed combination has far reaching impacts in further understanding the successful radiation of parasites that include species of medical, veterinary, economic and ecological importance that underpin sustainable economies. Few ecosystems are free from tapeworms, and almost all species occupy markedly different niches between life cycle stages, making their study highly pertinent in understanding the natural environment.
- NERC Reference:
- NER/A/S/2003/00313
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Standard Grants Pre FEC
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £218,579
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Staff | Total - T&S | Total - Other Costs | Total - Equipment | Total - Indirect Costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £121,269 | £7,071 | £30,695 | £3,760 | £55,783 |
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