Using DNA Barcodes to Aid the Identification of Larval Fishes in Tropical Estuarine Waters (Malacca Straits, Malaysia).

ABSTRACT: Larval descriptions of tropical marine and coastal fishes are very few, and this taxonomic problem is further exacerbated by the high diversity of fish species in these waters. Nonetheless, accurate larval identification in ecological and early life history studies of larval fishes is crucial for fishery management and habitat protection. The present study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of DNA barcodes to support larval fish identification since conventional dichotomous keys based on morphological traits are not efficient due to the lack of larval traits and the rapid morphological changes during ontogeny. Our molecular analysis uncovered a total of 48 taxa (21 families) from the larval samples collected from the Klang Strait waters encompassing both spawning and nursery grounds of marin

SUBMITTER: Chu C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6917562 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature