ARTS: Systematics of cyanogenic millipedes in the order Polydesmida

Arthropods are the most diverse group of animals on the planet, with over 10 million species. Of all the arthropods, a group of millipedes named the Polydesmida are among the least known to science, and it is estimated that several thousand of their species have yet to be discovered. These millipedes are tremendously important to the environment because they are the ultimate recyclers.

They eat dead organic matter, such as leaves and wood. As they break down this material, nutrients are released back into the soil which nourishes other plants and animals. This project will discover and describe hundreds of new species of these ecologically important native decomposers from the U.S. and other places, such as the Amazon.

The researchers will study how these millipedes evolved to produce cyanide as a natural defense against predators and will shed light on how they are immune to their own poisons. This project will provide jobs and educational opportunities for U.S. students, fostering an appreciation for biodiversity. The results and discoveries will be shared freely with the public online, which will include the first-ever nature guide to U.S. millipedes.

The research will expediently describe millipede diversity in the order Polydesmida and accomplish the following objectives: (1) by sequencing genomes, establish a modern phylogenetic systematic foundation for describing species, (2) use this phylogeny as an informative context to produce a classification of its taxa and keys for identification, and (3) resolve taxonomic deficiencies in millipede studies using an efficient and accurate approach to the revisionary treatments of the order. These millipedes are ancient remnants of a native guild of decomposers that have steadily declined due to forest habitat loss and competition with non-native organisms.

Annually, forests provide invaluable environmental services, including decomposition and nutrient cycling; understanding and cataloging the biodiversity that underpins these natural capital processes is paramount before these species suffer anonymous extinction. Students in the U.S. will carry out research in nature, discover and describe new species, and foster meaningful experiential learning opportunities.

For outreach, the researchers will share an appreciation of biodiversity and the goal of preserving it by leading local events in the Appalachian region and at Virginia Tech.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.