Dataset Information

DNA Barcoding of Freshwater Fishes of Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot.

ABSTRACT: To develop an effective conservation and management strategy, it is required to assess the biodiversity status of an ecosystem, especially when we deal with Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot. Importance of this reaches to an entirely different level as the hotspot represents the area of high endemism which is under continuous threat. Therefore, the need of the present study was conceptualized, dealing with molecular assessment of the fish fauna of Indo-Myanmar region, which covers the Indian states namely, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland. A total of 363 specimens, representing 109 species were collected and barcoded from the different rivers and their tributaries of the region. The analyses performed in the present study, i.e. Kimura 2-Parameter genetic divergence, Neighbor-Joining, Automated Barcode Gap Discovery and Bayesian Poisson Tree Processes suggest that DNA barcoding is an efficient and reliable tool for species identification. Most of the species were clearly delineated. However, presence of intra-specific and inter-specific genetic distance overlap in few species, revealed the existence of putative cryptic species. A reliable DNA barcode reference library, established in our study provides an adequate knowledge base to the groups of non-taxonomists, researchers, biodiversity managers and policy makers in sketching effective conservation measures for this ecosystem.

SUBMITTER: Barman AS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5988717 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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DNA Barcoding of Freshwater Fishes of Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot.

Barman Anindya Sundar AS Singh Mamta M Singh Soibam Khogen SK Saha Himadri H Singh Yumlembam Jackie YJ Laishram Martina M Pandey Pramod Kumar PK

Scientific reports 20180605 1

To develop an effective conservation and management strategy, it is required to assess the biodiversity status of an ecosystem, especially when we deal with Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot. Importance of this reaches to an entirely different level as the hotspot represents the area of high endemism which is under continuous threat. Therefore, the need of the present study was conceptualized, dealing with molecular assessment of the fish fauna of Indo-Myanmar region, which covers the Indian sta ...[more]

PMID: 29872224

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Project description:BackgroundBiodiversity surveys have long depended on traditional methods of taxonomy to inform sampling protocols and to determine when a representative sample of a given species pool of interest has been obtained. Questions remain as to how to design appropriate sampling efforts to accurately estimate total biodiversity. Here we consider the biodiversity of freshwater ostracods (crustacean class Ostracoda) from the region of Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Through an analysis of observed species richness and complementarity, accumulation curves, and richness estimators, we conduct an a posteriori analysis of five bioblitz-style collection strategies that differed in terms of total duration, number of sites, protocol flexibility to heterogeneous habitats, sorting of specimens for analysis, and primary purpose of collection. We used DNA barcoding to group specimens into molecular operational taxonomic units for comparison.ResultsForty-eight provisional species were identified through genetic divergences, up from the 30 species previously known and documented in literature from the Churchill region. We found differential sampling efficiency among the five strategies, with liberal sorting of specimens for molecular analysis, protocol flexibility (and particularly a focus on covering diverse microhabitats), and a taxon-specific focus to collection having strong influences on garnering more accurate species richness estimates.ConclusionsOur findings have implications for the successful design of future biodiversity surveys and citizen-science collection projects, which are becoming increasingly popular and have been shown to produce reliable results for a variety of taxa despite relying on largely untrained collectors. We propose that efficiency of biodiversity surveys can be increased by non-experts deliberately selecting diverse microhabitats; by conducting two rounds of molecular analysis, with the numbers of samples processed during round two informed by the singleton prevalence during round one; and by having sub-teams (even if all non-experts) focus on select taxa. Our study also provides new insights into subarctic diversity of freshwater Ostracoda and contributes to the broader "Barcoding Biotas" campaign at Churchill. Finally, we comment on the associated implications and future research directions for community ecology analyses and biodiversity surveys through DNA barcoding, which we show here to be an efficient technique enabling rapid biodiversity quantification in understudied taxa.

Project description:Both hydropower dams and global warming pose threats to freshwater fish diversity. While the extent of global warming may be reduced by a shift towards energy generation by large dams in order to reduce fossil-fuel use, such dams profoundly modify riverine habitats. Furthermore, the threats posed by dams and global warming will interact: for example, dams constrain range adjustments by fishes that might compensate for warming temperatures. Evaluation of their combined or synergistic effects is thus essential for adequate assessment of the consequences of planned water-resource developments. We made projections of the responses of 363 fish species within the Indo-Burma global biodiversity hotspot to the separate and joint impacts of dams and global warming. The hotspot encompasses the Lower Mekong Basin, which is the world's largest freshwater capture fishery. Projections for 81 dam-building scenarios revealed progressive impacts upon projected species richness, habitable area, and the proportion of threatened species as generating capacity increased. Projections from 126 global-warming scenarios included a rise in species richness, a reduction in habitable area, and an increase in the proportion of threatened species; however, there was substantial variation in the extent of these changes among warming projections. Projections from scenarios that combined the effects of dams and global warming were derived either by simply adding the two threats, or by combining them in a synergistic manner that took account of the likelihood that habitat shifts under global warming would be constrained by river fragmentation. Impacts on fish diversity under the synergistic projections were 10-20% higher than those attributable to additive scenarios, and were exacerbated as generating capacity increased-particularly if CO2 emissions remained high. The impacts of dams, especially those on river mainstreams, are likely to be greater, more predictable and more immediately pressing for fishes than the consequences of global warming. Limits upon dam construction should therefore be a priority action for conserving fish biodiversity in the Indo-Burma hotspot. This would minimize synergistic impacts attributable to dams plus global warming, and help ensure the continued provision of ecosystem services represented by the Lower Mekong fishery.

Dataset Information

DNA Barcoding of Freshwater Fishes of Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot.

Publications

DNA Barcoding of Freshwater Fishes of Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot.

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