The Cnidarian Tree of Life Project

From March 5-29 2008 an expedition to South Africa was mounted led by CnidToL PI Dr. Catherine McFadden (Harvey Mudd College) to collect shallow-water sea anemones, octocorals and hydrozoans. Other participants were: Dr. Estefania Rodriguez
(CnidToL Posdoc, OSU); Bernard Picton (Ulster Museum, N. Ireland); and Rebecca Helm (undergraduate and Fullbright Scholar U. Western Cape, So. Africa). We focused our collecting efforts on the southern coastal region affected by the cold water Benguela current ù a distinct biogeographic region characterized by high marine endemism ù spending a week each in the Cape Peninsula (Cape Town) and Algoa Bay (Port Elizabeth) areas. In addition, we spent four days on the subtropical reefs of Aliwal Shoal in northern Natal, two days in Mossel Bay (midway between the Cape Peninsula and Algoa Bay), and a day each in East London and Knysna. Inthe course of the trip we completed approximately 21 nearshore SCUBA dives, collectedintertidally at 8 rocky shore and two sheltered lagoon sites, and took numerous surface plankton tows for hydromedusae and scyphozoans. A total of approximately 490 specimens were collected, representing 245 octocorals, 115 actiniarians and zoanthids, 130 hydrozoans and a single scyphozoan. Duplicate voucher specimens of all taxa were deposited at Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town; the remaining material has been distributed among the Daly, Cartwright, Collins and McFadden laboratories for further taxonomic identification and DNA sequencing. While in South Africa we worked closely with several local marine scientists as well as amateur naturalists/SCUBA divers. In Port Elizabeth we were hosted by Dr. Shirley Parker-Nance who provided us with laboratory space at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. In Cape Town the plankton unit of the Marine and Coastal Management Agency allowed us to use space in their aquarium research facility, and Guido Zsilavesc of the Southern Underwater Research Group facilitated SCUBA diving. In addition, we established an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Charles Griffiths of the University of Cape Town and his M.Sc. student, Megan Laird. Megan is beginning a thesis project on the biogeographic distribution of South African sea anemones, and later this year will visit the Daly laboratory to learn histological techniques.