TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems
T2 - Advances and challenges in dna-based approaches
AU - Pfrender, Michael E.
AU - Ferrington, Leonard C.
AU - Hawkins, Charles P.
AU - Hartzell, Paula L.
AU - Bagley, Mark
AU - Jackson, Suzanne
AU - Courtney, Gregory W.
AU - Larsen, David P.
AU - Creutzburg, Brian R.
AU - Lévesque, C. André
AU - Epler, John H.
AU - Morse, John C.
AU - Fend, Steve
AU - Petersen, Matthew J.
AU - Ruiter, Dave
AU - Schindel, David
AU - Whiting, Michael
PY - 2010/9
Y1 - 2010/9
N2 - Assessing the biodiversity of macroinvertebrate fauna in freshwater ecosystems is an essential component of both basic ecological inquiry and applied ecological assessments. Aspects of taxonomic diversity and composition in freshwater communities are widely used to quantify water quality and measure the efficacy of remediation and restoration efforts. The accuracy and precision of biodiversity assessments based on standard morphological identifications are often limited by taxonomic resolution and sample size. Morphologically based identifications are laborious and costly, significantly constraining the sample sizes that can be processed. We suggest that the development of an assay platform based on DNA signatures will increase the precision and ease of quantifying biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. Advances in this area will be particularly relevant for benthic and planktonic invertebrates, which are often monitored by regulatory agencies. Adopting a genetic assessment platform will alleviate some of the current limitations to biodiversity assessment strategies. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with DNA-based assessments and the methods that are currently available. As recent advances in microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies will facilitate a transition to DNA-based assessment approaches, future research efforts should focus on methods for data collection, assay platform development, establishing linkages between DNA signatures and well-resolved taxonomies, and bioinformatics.
AB - Assessing the biodiversity of macroinvertebrate fauna in freshwater ecosystems is an essential component of both basic ecological inquiry and applied ecological assessments. Aspects of taxonomic diversity and composition in freshwater communities are widely used to quantify water quality and measure the efficacy of remediation and restoration efforts. The accuracy and precision of biodiversity assessments based on standard morphological identifications are often limited by taxonomic resolution and sample size. Morphologically based identifications are laborious and costly, significantly constraining the sample sizes that can be processed. We suggest that the development of an assay platform based on DNA signatures will increase the precision and ease of quantifying biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems. Advances in this area will be particularly relevant for benthic and planktonic invertebrates, which are often monitored by regulatory agencies. Adopting a genetic assessment platform will alleviate some of the current limitations to biodiversity assessment strategies. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with DNA-based assessments and the methods that are currently available. As recent advances in microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies will facilitate a transition to DNA-based assessment approaches, future research efforts should focus on methods for data collection, assay platform development, establishing linkages between DNA signatures and well-resolved taxonomies, and bioinformatics.
KW - Barcoding
KW - Bioassessment
KW - Biodiversity
KW - Freshwater
KW - Invertebrates
KW - Next-generation sequencing
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77957984013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77957984013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1086/655118
DO - 10.1086/655118
M3 - Article
C2 - 20919633
AN - SCOPUS:77957984013
SN - 0033-5770
VL - 85
SP - 319
EP - 340
JO - Quarterly Review of Biology
JF - Quarterly Review of Biology
IS - 3
ER -