Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Biological diversity is essential for healthy ecosystems and is a key component of a nation's wealth. To manage and conserve this resource it is imperative to understand biodiversity from the genetic to ecosystem level. Part of this task is the preparation of biological inventories, coupled with an understanding of biogeography and ecology. Establishing inventories requires a system of classification in which to document diversity, which when based on relationships additionally provides a guide for those seeking to survey species for economically useful compounds. My major focus is on two ecologically and economically important groups - red (primary) and brown (secondary) macroalgae. We use powerful molecular tools to both establish our contemporary inventories and derive our insights on relationships. These tools are more objective than are anatomical expressions that may be influenced by convergent evolution or the environment in the form of plasticity. Specific objectives: To use molecular tools: 1) to resolve relatedness above and within ordinal lineages of red algae and use that information to: a) assess the evolution of their key characteristics (e.g., vegetative and reproductive anatomy, life history pattern); and b) establish natural classification systems; 2) to establish the first comprehensive list of macroalgae for Canadian waters and use these data to: a) ensure Canadian macroalgae are represented within a phylogenetic context (merge with previous objective); and b) couple the inventories and evolutionary relatedness data to distributional and ecological metadata to form a more complete understanding of macroalgal biodiversity and biogeography considering the importance of speciation rates, and migration and vicariance during the Pliestocene in shaping the Canadian macroalgal flora. Novel expected findings: The results will provide an invaluable resource to systematists and conservationists as we attempt to appreciate macroalgal diversity and relationships, and for industry in the search for novel products. Further, we will establish an understanding of past and contemporary migrations and introductions to acquire insights into future diversity and distribution of seaweeds in Canada's three oceans.