Rather than superficially looking at the shape and habitats of these intertidal molluscs, Lesley Brooker has been peering down a microscope at more subtle differences.

“While working on chitons before my PhD, I became frustrated with not being able to identify the 19 local species. My PhD aims to make the classification system for chitons more accurate and useable,” she said.

The key to Ms Brooker’s system is to identify from where characteristics are derived to follow evolutionary paths back through time.

“Most classification to date has been based on obvious structural and ecological features,” said Ms Brooker.

“As evolution can influence species which live in similar niches to adapt in similar ways, I looked at the function of cells and microstructures instead.”

Examining intertidal species from tropical and temperate destinations around the world, Ms Brooker looked at features such as reproduction behaviours, shell structures, and even the way teeth are created.

“Chitons are fairly unique in their ability to get rid of iron in a useful way by making extremely strong teeth,” she said.

Ms Brooker is part of a collaborative research team at Murdoch University investigating the deposition of iron in chiton teeth, and its implications for nanotechnology innovations such as microscopic cutting and dredging tools. She is supervised by Dr Fred Wells from the Western Australian Museum and Associate Professor David Macey at Murdoch University.