The Cnidarian Tree of Life Project

Professor, Department of Biology, Harvey Mudd College

Octocoral Phylogeny

My role in CnidTol is to focus on molecular systematics of Octocorallia, the anthozoan sub-class that includes soft corals, sea fans and sea pens. For the CnidToL project we plan to sequence representatives of as many as possible of the approximately 38 extant families of octocorals, including all described sub-families and members of clades whose phylogenetic placement is at present uncertain. Within the context of this broader phylogenetic study, we will also examine the phylogenetic relationships among the 35 or so genera belonging to the morphologically diverse and polyphyletic soft coral family Alcyoniidae, as well as those species assigned to the equally problematic genus Alcyonium. In addition, we will oversee the entry of octocoral literature into the expanded cnidarian database to be developed as part of the CnidToL project. Harvey Mudd College is a highly selective 4-yr college of science and engineering, and most of the work our lab plans to complete for CnidToL will be conducted by undergraduate research students.