Some open questions In the The CTR wants to know -
how tardigrades interact with other animals in a
moss cushion (or a lichen), with the plant itself and with their physical environments to
optimize fitness (adaptation, resistence, competition). -
which are the mechanisms driving population and
community dynamics (especially in tardigrades). -
which are the critical environmental limits to
survival and reproduction in tardigrades. -
which adaptations are evolved by tardigrades for
overcoming the limitation set by physical and chemical factors. -
which niche differentiations exist between
tardigrades, rotifers and nematodes (for competition over evolutionary time
should lead to niche differentiation). -
if the models of modern ecology are not too
theoretical and too simple for understanding the ecology, the evolution and
the life histories in holo-anhydrobiotic animals, the first metazoan land
invaders on this earth. Some further questions: -
Which might be the possible functions of secondary
plant or moss metabolites in tardigrades? -
Are there strategies within a bryosystem regulating
or preventing fungal attacks on tardigrades? -
Which are the factors influencing moulting and
oviposition in tardigrades? -
Might it be possible that horizontal gene transfer
(as it has taken place in the evolution of Bdelloid rotifers) may be an important force in tardigrade
evolution? -
Are there pheromonal interactions in tardigrades? -
An overview of nearly 500 scientific publications
about tardigrades shows that too little systematic investigation has been
aimed at studying tardigrade physiology, biochemistry, behaviour and ecology. The CTR has the advantage
to solve problems of these special fields and is not pressurized by the
„public or perish“ or „value-for-money science“ philosophies. |