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First report of lionfish prey from Western Florida waters as identified by DNA barcoding.

ABSTRACT: DNA barcoding was used to identify prey fragments recovered from the stomachs of lionfish harvested during the 2016 Sarasota Lionfish Derby. A total of 305 prey fragments were recovered from 50 stomachs (mean = 4.6 per stomach), of which 184 (60.3%) fragments could be identified to either species or genus when Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) sequences were queried against the Barcode of Life Database. We identified 21 fish prey species which represented fourteen families and accounted for 95.7% of genetically identifiable prey items. The remaining prey items identified corresponded to six crustacean species. The four most common prey taxa in lionfish stomachs were Ptereleotris calliura (24.3%), an unidentified Microgobius species (20.4%), Diplectum formosum (14.3%), and Apogon aurolineatus (12.2%). The most frequently observed crustacean species, Metapenaeopsis goodei, was found in only three stomachs (6.1%). We also report eleven taxa as putative novel lionfish prey species, most of which are common in Florida waters. Sixteen prey items were identified as lionfish (P. volitans); however, it was not definitive whether these detections were due to cross contamination or cannibalization. This represents the first report of lionfish diets from Florida waters in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico based on barcoding efforts. Our results are largely congruent with previous COI barcoding based studies of lionfish diets, indicating these predators to be generalists exhibiting preferences for specific prey traits but with regional differences in their diets.

SUBMITTER: Santamaria CA

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7489240 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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First report of lionfish prey from Western Florida waters as identified by DNA barcoding.

Santamaria Carlos A CA Locascio James J Greenan Taylor M TM

PeerJ 20200911

DNA barcoding was used to identify prey fragments recovered from the stomachs of lionfish harvested during the 2016 Sarasota Lionfish Derby. A total of 305 prey fragments were recovered from 50 stomachs (mean = 4.6 per stomach), of which 184 (60.3%) fragments could be identified to either species or genus when Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) sequences were queried against the Barcode of Life Database. We identified 21 fish prey species which represented fourteen families and accounted for 95.7% of ge ...[more]

PMID: 32974106

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Project description:BACKGROUND: DNA barcoding has been advanced as a promising tool to aid species identification and discovery through the use of short, standardized gene targets. Despite extensive taxonomic studies, for a variety of reasons the identification of fishes can be problematic, even for experts. DNA barcoding is proving to be a useful tool in this context. However, its broad application is impeded by the need to construct a comprehensive reference sequence library for all fish species. Here, we make a regional contribution to this grand challenge by calibrating the species discrimination efficiency of barcoding among 125 Argentine fish species, representing nearly one third of the known fauna, and examine the utility of these data to address several key taxonomic uncertainties pertaining to species in this region. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Specimens were collected and morphologically identified during crusies conducted between 2005 and 2008. The standard BARCODE fragment of COI was amplified and bi-directionally sequenced from 577 specimens (mean of 5 specimens/species), and all specimens and sequence data were archived and interrogated using analytical tools available on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD; www.barcodinglife.org). Nearly all species exhibited discrete clusters of closely related haplogroups which permitted the discrimination of 95% of the species (i.e. 119/125) examined while cases of shared haplotypes were detected among just three species-pairs. Notably, barcoding aided the identification of a new species of skate, Dipturus argentinensis, permitted the recognition of Genypterus brasiliensis as a valid species and questions the generic assignment of Paralichthys isosceles. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This study constitutes a significant contribution to the global barcode reference sequence library for fishes and demonstrates the utility of barcoding for regional species identification. As an independent assessment of alpha taxonomy, barcodes provide robust support for most morphologically based taxon concepts and also highlight key areas of taxonomic uncertainty worthy of reappraisal.

Project description:The order Tetraodontiformes are one of the most unique groups of teleostean fish, exhibiting highly derived and greatly diversified phenotypes. It is a difficult task for both professionals and nonprofessionals to accurately identify these species only according to morphological characteristics. DNA barcoding can identify species at the molecular level to overcome the limitations of morphological classification. In this study, we collected 616 specimens of pufferfish from the coastal waters of China. According to the morphological characteristics, they were preliminarily identified as 50 species. Further analysis using DNA barcodes identified these specimens as 46 species, belonging to 23 genera, 6 families. According to the species classification results of DNA barcoding, the three species identified by morphology as Takifugu pseudommus, Takifugu chinensis, and Takifugu rubripes should be the same species. Similarly, Lagocephalus wheeleri is the synonym of Lagocephalus spadiceus. Another important discovery of DNA barcoding analysis is that there are closer interspecific genetic distances within the genus Takifugu. If T. rubripes, T. pseudommus, and T. chinensis are taken as one species, the average interspecific to intraspecific genetic distance ratio of Takifugu is only 6.21 times, which does not reach the DNA barcoding threshold of more than 10 times proposed previously. Although the interspecific genetic distance in the genus Takifugu is relatively small, each species can be clustered into independent clades in the NJ tree. In conclusion, this study not only found that there are synonymous phenomena in the order Tetraodontiformes but also provided molecular evidence for the valid species names of Takifugu rubripes and Lagocephalus Spadiceus. The results can provide reliable DNA barcoding information for the identification of pufferfish species, help solve the problem of classification confusion in this order, and provide technical support for the identification of the original components of related commodities on the aquatic product market.

Dataset Information

First report of lionfish prey from Western Florida waters as identified by DNA barcoding.

Publications

First report of lionfish prey from Western Florida waters as identified by DNA barcoding.

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