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The Diplopoda: Systematics, Training and Tools
NSF-DEB 05-29715 (Peet Program)
 While a previous PEET grant trained five new millipede systematists, the establishment of a sustainable millipede research community requires (a) the training of new students and postdocs, (b) a robust phylogenetic framework, and (c) the development of systematic research tools. Insights gleaned from the previous PEET grant facilitatetd the design of a systematic research program that will drive millipede research forward and has allowed us to make more informed choices about where we should focus our future taxonomic research efforts. The new PEET grant is lead by PI/Co-PIs Sierwald, Bond and Shear. We propose five major projects that have as their foremost goal the enhancement of millipede taxonomic expertise.
Progress in millipede systematics is severely hampered by the lack of a robust phylogenetic framework, especially among taxa at the subordinal level and ranks down to the tribal level. As with many other hyper-diverse taxa, traditional groupings have never been tested by modern phylogenetic approaches. Concomitantly, millipede morphology has been severely neglected and our knowledge of most somatic character suites lingers at the level achieved in the 1930’s, resulting in the absence of a rigorous homology-based framework. Moreover, advances in millipede phylogeny that employ molecular data lack a total evidence facet, likely due to the paucity of well-documented morphological character systems and explicitly defined character matrices. The five systematic projects we propose address (a) subordinal and family-level phylogeny of millipedes (b), two species- and genus-level studies in the large order Polydesmida, (c) a generic study of the large, completely unrevised family Rhinocricidae (order Spirobolida), (d) a biogeographical study focusing on exemplars in three diverse millipedes orders, and (e) systematic study in the complex order Chordeumatida. All studies will generate comparable suites of documented morphological character data.
 The proposed computerization project, a worldwide millipede-species catalog, is the first of its kind to encapsulate the millipede taxonomic literature spanning two and one half centuries (1758-2005). Work on the project is very advanced due to activities completed during the first PEET grant. The species catalog became feasible when a copy of a handwritten card catalog (about 80% complete) was acquired from the Natural History Museum in Paris. At present, the actively growing catalog contains approximately 3,000 fully referenced species records in a relational database; all species records have been checked against the original literature. Our preliminary work on the catalog shows that this quality standard can be maintained, mainly due to the Field Museum’s excellent library. Despite the high data standard, the data-entry rate is high, as a three-month trial period with a dedicated catalog assistant demonstrated.
This project will make significant contributions to the status of millipede systematics. Through our proposed training program, five millipede systematists will gain taxon expertise. The training components include Museum, collection and University-based environments, enabling the trainees to acquire methods and skills for various positions in systematics, evolutionary biology and entomology. The systematic research, per se, conducted during the course of this grant will advance the conceptual infrastructure of millipede systematics. The improved phylogenetic framework and the development of a wide range of morphological character suites will provide future systematic work in the group with a sound foundation.
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