Case Study
Submitted By
| Name: | Alison Sherwood |
| Institution: | University of Hawaii |
| Country: | USA |
| Email: | asherwoo@hawaii.edu |
Title & Categories
| Case Study Title: | Barcoding the red algae of the Hawaiian islands |
| Focus Theme: | Biotic inventory of multiple taxa in a region or habitat, Adding barcodes to a large survey of a taxonomic group, Experimental application of barcodes to a new taxonomic group |
| Geographic Region: | Pacific Ocean |
| Habitat Type: | Intertidal, Freshwater streams, Marine nearshore benthos |
| Taxonomic Group: | c: Rhodophyta |
Scope
The red algae of Hawai‘i hold great potential for the discovery of previously unknown biodiversity. Endemism of the Hawaiian red algal flora is estimated to be 19.5% and 20.0% for the marine and freshwater floras, respectively. As recent survey efforts and phylogenetic studies have indicated, the Hawaiian archipelago contains a large number of undescribed taxa, particularly among the red algae. This project is part of an ongoing effort to document and archive the aquatic red algae of the Hawaiian islands (including the Northwestern Hawaiian islands) in a comprehensive manner to include morphological vouchers, total genomic DNA vouchers DNA sequencing of all collections through an assessment of DNA sequence diversity. We are aiming to sequence the 5’ end of the COI gene for representatives of as many species of Hawaiian red algae as possible.
Purpose
The Hawaiian archipelago encompasses eight main islands and 124 small islands, atolls, and shoals, totaling 16,640 km2. Hawaii’s reputation as an outstanding outdoor evolution laboratory is based on a combination of unique factors about this archipelago. Three-quarters of the world’s tropical and subtropical marine red algal genera are present in Hawai‘i. The red algae, or Rhodophyta, are the most diverse of the three main seaweed groups present in Hawai‘i, and include 143 genera and ca. 350 species. Freshwater red algae are abundant in Hawaiian stream systems and thus far six species (four genera) have been reported. This flora represents an ideal system for the application of DNA barcoding, and interpretation of barcode data is expected to reveal many taxa that warrant further systematic investigation.
Background
The objective of this project is to investigate the biodiversity of Hawaiian red algae (Rhodophyta). We are specifically interested in applying DNA barcoding to the Hawaiian Rhodophyta to aid in identification of species and to allow rapid screening of new collections for taxa previously unknown to Hawai‘i and the detection of undescribed biodiversity. This biodiversity research in Hawai‘i is both timely and critical, and holds promise for characterization of a flora that is traditionally challenging to work with for many reasons. The organizers of this project (Alison Sherwood and Gernot Presting) are coordinating with a number of different researchers and organizations (including expert systematists, herbaria, government units and global biodiversity initiatives) to compile the best possible set of collections.
Logistics
This project is currently progressing as a component of a National Science Foundation-funded grant (P.I. Alison Sherwood, Co-P.I. Gernot Presting) to characterize the red algal biodiversity of the Hawaiian islands. As part of this project we are collecting red algae from each of the main Hawaiian islands and accessing collections from the Northwestern Hawaiian islands from 2006-2009. Complete DNA barcoding of the Hawaiian red algae using the COI gene is a larger undertaking that will require additional support, and we are seeking supplementary funds to build and expand upon our initial project in order to increase the number of collections of each species.