Dataset Information

Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

ABSTRACT: Cartilaginous fish are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors and environmental change because of their K-selected reproductive strategy. Accurate data from scientific surveys and landings are essential to assess conservation status and to develop robust protection and management plans. Currently available data are often incomplete or incorrect as a result of inaccurate species identifications, due to a high level of morphological stasis, especially among closely related taxa. Moreover, several diagnostic characters clearly visible in adult specimens are less evident in juveniles. Here we present results generated by the ELASMOMED Consortium, a regional network aiming to sample and DNA-barcode the Mediterranean Chondrichthyans with the ultimate goal to provide a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library. This library will support and improve the molecular taxonomy of this group and the effectiveness of management and conservation measures. We successfully barcoded 882 individuals belonging to 42 species (17 sharks, 24 batoids and one chimaera), including four endemic and several threatened ones. Morphological misidentifications were found across most orders, further confirming the need for a comprehensive DNA barcoding library as a valuable tool for the reliable identification of specimens in support of taxonomist who are reviewing current identification keys. Despite low intraspecific variation among their barcode sequences and reduced samples size, five species showed preliminary evidence of phylogeographic structure. Overall, the ELASMOMED initiative further emphasizes the key role accurate DNA barcoding libraries play in establishing reliable diagnostic species specific features in otherwise taxonomically problematic groups for biodiversity management and conservation actions.

SUBMITTER: Cariani A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5249125 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

Cariani Alessia A Messinetti Silvia S Ferrari Alice A Arculeo Marco M Bonello Juan J JJ Bonnici Leanne L Cannas Rita R Carbonara Pierluigi P Cau Alessandro A Charilaou Charis C El Ouamari Najib N Fiorentino Fabio F Follesa Maria Cristina MC Garofalo Germana G Golani Daniel D Guarniero Ilaria I Hanner Robert R Hemida Farid F Kada Omar O Lo Brutto Sabrina S Mancusi Cecilia C Morey Gabriel G Schembri Patrick J PJ Serena Fabrizio F Sion Letizia L Stagioni Marco M Tursi Angelo A Vrgoc Nedo N Steinke Dirk D Tinti Fausto F

PloS one 20170120 1

Cartilaginous fish are particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic stressors and environmental change because of their K-selected reproductive strategy. Accurate data from scientific surveys and landings are essential to assess conservation status and to develop robust protection and management plans. Currently available data are often incomplete or incorrect as a result of inaccurate species identifications, due to a high level of morphological stasis, especially among closely related taxa. Moreov ...[more]

PMID: 28107413

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Project description:In the last few years, DNA barcoding became an established method for species identification in biodiversity inventories and monitoring studies. Such studies depend on the access to a comprehensive reference data base, covering all relevant taxa. Here we present a comprehensive DNA barcode inventory of all amphibian and reptile species native to Austria, except for the putatively extinct Vipera ursinii rakosiensis and Lissotriton helveticus, which has been only recently reported for the very western edge of Austria. A total of 194 DNA barcodes were generated in the framework of the Austrian Barcode of Life (ABOL) initiative. Species identification via DNA barcodes was successful for most species, except for the hybridogenetic species complex of water frogs (Pelophylax spp.) and the crested newts (Triturus spp.), in areas of sympatry. However, DNA barcoding also proved powerful in detecting deep conspecific lineages, e.g. within Natrix natrix or the wall lizard (Podarcis muralis), resulting in more than one Barcode Index Number (BIN) per species. Moreover, DNA barcodes revealed the presence of Natrix helvetica, which has been elevated to species level only recently, and genetic signatures of the Italian water frog Pelophylax bergeri in Western Austria for the first time. Comparison to previously published DNA barcoding data of European amphibians and reptiles corroborated the results of the Austrian data but also revealed certain peculiarities, underlining the particular strengths and in the case of the genus Pelophylax also the limitations of DNA barcoding. Consequently, DNA barcoding is not only powerful for species identification of all life stages of most Austrian amphibian and reptile species, but also for the detection of new species, the monitoring of gene flow or the presence of alien populations and/or species. Thus, DNA barcoding and the data generated in this study may serve both scientific and national or even transnational conservation purposes.

Dataset Information

Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

Publications

Improving the Conservation of Mediterranean Chondrichthyans: The ELASMOMED DNA Barcode Reference Library.

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