Case Study
Submitted By
| Name: | Joshua Reece |
| Institution: | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Country: | USA |
| Email: | jsreece@wustl.edu |
Title & Categories
| Case Study Title: | Developing Barcodes for Moray Eels |
| Focus Theme: | Species conservation, Biotic inventory of a poorly known taxonomic group, Associating life stages/genders, Adding barcodes to a large survey of a taxonomic group |
| Geographic Region: | South America, Sea of Japan (East Sea), Red Sea, Pacific Ocean, North America, Middle East, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, East China Sea, East Asia, Central America, Caribbean Ocean, Australia, Atlantic Ocean, Arabian Sea, Africa |
| Habitat Type: | Marine - Other, Intertidal, Estuarine, Coastal wetlands |
| Taxonomic Group: | f: Osteichthyes, a: Apicomplexa |
Scope
This project is a collaboration among Joshua Reece, a Ph.D. candidate at Washington University in St. Louis, Dr. Allan Larson also of Washington University, and Dr. Brian Bowen of the Hawaiian Institute of Marine Biology. We are developing barcodes for consistent species identification across Anguilliform eels, with focused sampling on moray eels (Muraenidae). We are seeking tissue or specimens for any Anguilliform eel. The scope of this project is to establish DNA barcoding as a tool to identify species of eels and to reevaluate their species-level taxonomy. Anguilliform eels are characterized by leptocephalous larvae, which are often fragile specimens that are difficult to preserve and identify to species. Additionally, many eels are strongly associated with and depend upon coral reef ecosystems. Due to their prolonged larval dispersal period, moray eels are an excellent candidate for identifying the patterns of speciation and biodiversity accumulation for coral reef species with massive dispersal capabilities. The use of DNA barcoding techniques would allow for species identification of pelagic leptocephalous larvae and would facilitate eels for use in population genetic studies of coral reef fishes.
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to reevaluate species status in Anguilliform eels, with special focus on the Muraenidae. The use of DNA barcoding technology is a simple way to standardize species recognition of adult and larval forms. Population genetic studies of eels will be facilitated by the ability to identify fragile and cryptic larval specimens to species. Population genetic studies of eels have great promise in identifying patterns of dispersal among other coral reef fish with pelagic dispersal mechanisms. This study will add clarity to our understanding of species-level diversity within Anguilliform eels, as well as facilitate future studies of eel phylogeography. Such studies will likely identify patterns in biodiversity accumulation for coral reef species with similar life history characteristics.
Background
We are developing DNA barcodes for identifying Anguilliform eel species. This goal will allow for identification of adult specimens as well as difficult to identify larval forms. In a broader study, we are sampling eels as representatives of coral reef fishes because their complex life histories expose them to environmental challenges shared by many other marine fishes. Anguilliform eels exhibit a particularly long larval dispersal period, in which the leptocephalous, free-floating larvae do not mature for up to two years. It is likely that larvae migrate great distances during these developmental periods and that this larval-dispersal strategy produces high levels of gene flow among geographically disparate populations. It is likely that the long dispersal period in many eels is countered by fidelity to natal reefs based on geographic location, or recruitment to ecologically similar reefs. Adult philopatry to specific reefs has been documented for several species (Bohlke et al. 1989), and is likely a strategy for adult persistence in pelagic systems where reefs can be separated by vast, uninhabitable areas. Larval dispersal capabilities are a key component of marine conservation biology (Cowen et al. 2006). The patterns we identify in Indo-Pacific moray eels will likely be reflective of other commercially important fish and our findings will pertain on varying scales to all reef fish with similar dispersal mechanisms.
Logistics
Our goal in developing DNA barcodes for Anguilliform eels is to investigate the cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (CO1) gene for use in identifying species. This gene has shown great promise in previous studies in identifying interspecific levels of divergence. We will combine the CO1 marker with other mitochondrial genes such as 16S in cases where intraspecific genetic diversity is comparable with interspecific divergence, as is often the case in widely distributed species. We are seeking collaborators who would be willing to collect eels for this study. We request a tissue sample from any readily identifiable species. For unknown species, we request that the entire specimen, if feasible, be kept as a voucher and shipped (at our cost) to our facilities or a local museum/university. We will ship a species identification packet and tissue collection kit to anyone willing to participate in collecting. We will also reimburse collaborators for preservation, storage, and shipping costs. We will provide a reward to local fishermen or students of $10 in U.S. currency for each viable tissue sample. Rewards will be submitted following receipt and validation of samples. Additional rewards may apply for voucher specimens of unidentified species. Please contact Joshua Reece (jsreece@wustl.edu) for additional information.