1. A Searchable Cnidae Database: A Potential Resource for Taxonomic Determination in the Phylum Cnidaria Ryan Schulze (schulze@ku.edu) The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Division of Biological Sciences Advisor: Dr. Daphne G. Fautin, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

2. What are Cnidae? Specialized capsules unique to members of the phylum Cnidaria Many purposes Defense Attachment Immobilization of prey Single-use

3. What are Cnidae? Abundant!

4. What are Cnidae?

5. (Scale Bar = 0.1mm)

6. Variability from species to species  Good candidate for aiding classification

7. Capsule Type Capsule Length Capsule Width Relative Abundance Location Obtained

8. Data collected from the literature is integrated into tables linked to the larger database

10. Future Functions Combine data from multiple sources Use statistics to identify species- specific tendencies Display images from original literature

11. This project is funded by an REU supplement for NSF grant DEB-99-78106 to Daphne G. Fautin as part of the Partnerships to Enhance Expertise in Taxonomy (PEET) program. Hexacorallians of the World: http://hercules.kgs.ku.edu/hexacoral/anemone2/index.cfm

12. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Adorian Ardelean for SEM photography; Ganesh Shankaran and Keith Hunsinger for programming assistance; and to Daphne Fautin, Ha-Rim Cha, and Meg Daly for their helpful ideas and suggestions.