The implications of this behavior for regulations and management will be analyzed during the final year of funding. In the second year of a NSI grant, the researchers are studying phylogenetic relationships within a family of cephalopods. The researchers will examine how a systematic revision based on modern evolutionary methods furthers the understanding of biological diversity in marine ecosystems and the historical processes responsible for patterns of biodiversity. The suite of research efforts under aquaculture is focused on utilizing genetic and molecular technology to increase the productivity of cultured finfish and crustacea. Recombinant bovine hormone will replace MT in the proposed research for 1999-2001.
Researchers face the formidable task of reducing the high mortality of microscopic marine larvae.
To address this problem, the proposed research will adapt rearing protocols developed for the culture of food fish. They will initially determine the culturability of fishes by the ability of their larvae to survive in tanks. A secondary study will test the effect of enriched brine shrimp on maturation and spawning of seahorses. A genetic study, initiated with seed funding, will build on the preliminary results obtained by the researchers. They found that while amino acid sequences of shrimp were similar to those of crab, nematode and fly, there also were differences.