Deep Fin will Advance The Phylogeny of Fishes -- A
Research Coordination Network
Project Summary
Deep Fin will provide a forum to bring together systematic
ichthyologists and theoreticians from all over the world with expertise
in morphology and molecular data of recent and fossil taxa, bioinformatics,
and the methods and theory of data and phylogenetic analysis. The goals
of the RCN are (i) to promote fish phylogenetics. (ii) to develop cyberinfrastructure,
a portal for fish phylogenetics (www.deepfin.org) with networking tools
and interconnected relational databases; and (iii) to develop educational
material to foster education on fish biodiversity, fish evolution, and
current knowledge on the phylogenetic relationships of fishes. These
goals will be reached by coordinating activities in three main fronts:
group meetings/workshops, website and database development, and student
recruitment, training, and exchange.
This effort bridges disciplines in both physical and virtual
space to promote communication and education between senior-level systematic
ichthyologists, students at all levels, and the general public. Development
of cyberinfrastructure will significantly increase information and material
sharing throughout the international community dedicated to phylogenetic
studies of fishes. Development of public databases and resources will
result in new partnerships among historically divided subdisciplines.
The results of this project will be disseminated broadly to enhance
scientific understanding among other disciplines, such as genomics and
evolutionary developmental biology, that will be able to capitalize
on the newly established phylogenetic framework. DeepFin will provide
public outreach and education. A student exchange program will increase
communication between institutions and disciplines. Active recruitment
of students for the proposed activities will broaden opportunities for
underrepresented groups in systematic ichthyology. Students will learn
various aspects of systematic ichthyology, including new techniques
and grant-writing skills. But most importantly, the new generation of
scientists will be broadly trained across discipline boundaries.
|
