dentifying Canadian Freshwater Fish Through DNA Barcodes
ScienceDaily (June 19, 2008) — New research by Canadian scientists, led by Nicolas Hubert at the Université Laval in Québec brings some good news for those interested in the conservation of a number of highly-endangered species of Canadian fish.See also:Plants & Animals
* Fish * New Species * Marine Biology
Earth & Climate
* Ecology * Biodiversity * Exotic Species
Reference
* Fish migration * Deep sea fish * Crappie * Conservation status
The use of DNA for automated species-level identification of earth biodiversity has recently moved from being an unreachable dream to a potential reality in the very near future. The potential of mitochondrial DNA in achieving this target has been successfully assessed for all of the Canadian freshwater fish communities and the approach bears some very exciting promise.
The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) and the Canadian Barcoding of Life network recently assessed the potential of the Barcode region in diagnosing the entire freshwater fish communities of Canada and Alaska in the context of the fish worldwide campaign.
Hubert and colleagues sampled and barcoded 1360 individuals from 190 species belonging to 27 families and 20 orders and showed that Barcodes are effective for species-level identifications in 93% of the case.
In front of the economic importance and identification challenges associated with fishes, this represents a considerable advance for conservation practices and open new perspectives in ecology.
__________________________________------Mass Extinction Of Freshwater Species In North America
ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 1999) — The first estimate of extinction rates of North America's freshwater animals shows that they are the most endangered group in the continent. "A silent mass extinction is occurring in our lakes and rivers," says Anthony Ricciardi of the study in the October issue of Conservation Biology.See also:Plants & Animals
* Extinction * New Species * Endangered Animals
Trends & Issues
Reference
* Zebra mussel * Fish migration * Mussel * Atlantic salmon
This research was done by Ricciardi of Dalhousie University in Halifax and Joseph Rasmussen of McGill University in Montreal.
Ricciardi and Rasmussen found that common freshwater species from snails to fish to amphibians are dying out five times faster than terrestrial species. In fact, freshwater animals are dying out as fast as rainforest species, which are generally considered to be the most imperiled on Earth.
If nothing is done, Ricciardi and Rasmussen predict that nearly 4% of freshwater species will be lost each decade. At this rate, many at-risk species will disappear within the next century. Currently, at-risk species account for 49% of the 262 remaining mussel species, 33% of the 336 remaining crayfish species, 26% of the 243 remaining amphibian species, and 21% of the 1021 remaining fish species.
One major threat to freshwater animals is non-native species. For instance, zebra mussels introduced from Europe are outcompeting native mussels in lakes and rivers.
Another major threat to freshwater species is dams. In the contiguous U.S., only about 40 rivers longer than 125 miles remain free-flowing. The fact that hundreds of U.S. dams are coming up for federal re-licensing soon gives us the unprecedented opportunity to re-establish natural flows in many rivers, say the researchers.
ScienceDaily (June 19, 2008) — New research by Canadian scientists, led by Nicolas Hubert at the Université Laval in Québec brings some good news for those interested in the conservation of a number of highly-endangered species of Canadian fish.See also:Plants & Animals
* Fish * New Species * Marine Biology
Earth & Climate
* Ecology * Biodiversity * Exotic Species
Reference
* Fish migration * Deep sea fish * Crappie * Conservation status
The use of DNA for automated species-level identification of earth biodiversity has recently moved from being an unreachable dream to a potential reality in the very near future. The potential of mitochondrial DNA in achieving this target has been successfully assessed for all of the Canadian freshwater fish communities and the approach bears some very exciting promise.
The Consortium for the Barcode of Life (CBOL) and the Canadian Barcoding of Life network recently assessed the potential of the Barcode region in diagnosing the entire freshwater fish communities of Canada and Alaska in the context of the fish worldwide campaign.
Hubert and colleagues sampled and barcoded 1360 individuals from 190 species belonging to 27 families and 20 orders and showed that Barcodes are effective for species-level identifications in 93% of the case.
In front of the economic importance and identification challenges associated with fishes, this represents a considerable advance for conservation practices and open new perspectives in ecology.
__________________________________------Mass Extinction Of Freshwater Species In North America
ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 1999) — The first estimate of extinction rates of North America's freshwater animals shows that they are the most endangered group in the continent. "A silent mass extinction is occurring in our lakes and rivers," says Anthony Ricciardi of the study in the October issue of Conservation Biology.See also:Plants & Animals
* Extinction * New Species * Endangered Animals
Trends & Issues
Reference
* Zebra mussel * Fish migration * Mussel * Atlantic salmon
This research was done by Ricciardi of Dalhousie University in Halifax and Joseph Rasmussen of McGill University in Montreal.
Ricciardi and Rasmussen found that common freshwater species from snails to fish to amphibians are dying out five times faster than terrestrial species. In fact, freshwater animals are dying out as fast as rainforest species, which are generally considered to be the most imperiled on Earth.
If nothing is done, Ricciardi and Rasmussen predict that nearly 4% of freshwater species will be lost each decade. At this rate, many at-risk species will disappear within the next century. Currently, at-risk species account for 49% of the 262 remaining mussel species, 33% of the 336 remaining crayfish species, 26% of the 243 remaining amphibian species, and 21% of the 1021 remaining fish species.
One major threat to freshwater animals is non-native species. For instance, zebra mussels introduced from Europe are outcompeting native mussels in lakes and rivers.
Another major threat to freshwater species is dams. In the contiguous U.S., only about 40 rivers longer than 125 miles remain free-flowing. The fact that hundreds of U.S. dams are coming up for federal re-licensing soon gives us the unprecedented opportunity to re-establish natural flows in many rivers, say the researchers.
No comments:
Post a Comment