Meeting Abstract
Although regeneration has been studied for hundreds of years some of the most basic questions in the field remain unanswered. What is the distribution of regenerative ability throughout animals? What traits correlate with a loss of regeneration? Our goal is to identify morphological and behavioral characters that may be correlated with the loss of anterior regeneration in annelids. We are focusing efforts on several annelid families in which a spectrum of regenerative ability exists and testing several possible correlates of regeneration. First, sedentary annelids often extend a portion of their anterior end above the substrate or their protective tube, exposing this body region to predation. Does a sedentary lifestyle lead to increased selective pressure for anterior regenerative ability in sedentary annelids as compared to an errant lifestyle? Second, annelids vary considerably in their body proportions (e.g., short and stout vs. long and thin), and body proportions could influence susceptibility to breakage from biotic and abiotic factors. Does a larger length/width body ratio correlate with higher regenerative ability? We are using comparative analyses and tests of correlated character evolution to address both of these questions. Identifying correlates of regeneration will further our understanding of why and how regeneration ability evolves.
