2/6/2014 DNA barcoding to monitor marine mammal genetic diversity -- ScienceDaily

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December 30, 2013
Pensoft Publishers
Marine mammals are flagship and charismatic species. Attractive for the
general public, nowadays, they are also considered as highly relevant
sentinel of the marine realm as indicator for environmental change. A
recent article suggests that the use of DNA barcoding in conjunction with
a stranding network will clearly increase the accuracy of the monitoring of
marine mammal biodiversity.
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Credit: Rseau national franais d'chouage; CC-
BY 4.0
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M
A fin whale, Balaenoptera physalus, is shown stranded on the "le de Sein" during
May 2011.
arine mammals are flagship and charismatic species, very attractive
for the general public. Nowadays, they are also considered as highly
relevant sentinel of the marine realm. Their presence and their
welfare in an area is thought to indicate the health of the place, whereas their
disappearance, their displacement, or a decrease in their abundance or
health could reflect negative environmental changes, whether of
anthropogenic origin or not.
Monitoring marine mammal biodiversity is often difficult to
perform. If some species can be easily observed, others
are more difficult to detect, because for instance, of their
scarcity or their discrete behavior. One of the solution
suggested by scientists is based on the organization of
stranding networks, listing and recording marine mammal
strandings, which represent a cost-effective means to
follow the marine mammal biodiversity.
Researchers from Ocanopolis and from the Laboratory
BioGeMME (Biologie et Gntique des Mammifres
Marins dans leur Environnement) of the University of Brest,
in collaboration with the Parc naturel marin d'Iroise and PELAGIS, have evaluated the
usefulness of DNA barcoding in the monitoring of marine mammal biodiversity. They
confirmed the species identifications performed by field correspondents, identified
degraded carcasses or parts of carcasses, and examined intraspecific genetic
variations for the harbour porpoise and the grey seal, undetectable by visual
observation.
The conclusions of their study, published in a special issue of the open access journal
Zookeys dedicated to DNA barcoding (DNA barcoding: a practical tool for fundamental
and applied biodiversity research), are that the use of DNA barcoding in conjunction
with a stranding network will clearly increase the accuracy of the monitoring of marine
mammal biodiversity. Global climate change, as well as more localized environmental
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Pensoft Publishers. "DNA barcoding to monitor marine mammal genetic diversity."
ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 December 2013.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131230135048.htm>.
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changes (some of which are caused by humans), has impacts on the marine realm. A
routine use of DNA barcoding to monitor marine mammal biodiversity will clearly
increase our capacity to detect such impacts, which is a necessary first step to take
appropriate conservation measures.
In France, the French marine mammal stranding recording program has been created
at the beginning of the 70s by the CRMM (Centre de Recherche sur les Mammifres
Marins, La Rochelle, presently the Joint Service Unit PELAGIS, UMS 3462, University
of La Rochelle- CNRS). The network comprises about 260 field correspondents,
members of organizations or volunteers (Peltier et al. 2013, PloS One, e62180).
In Brittany (a region located at the northwest of France), the network is coordinated by
Ocanopolis in Brest. In this area, and all species included, an average of 150 animals
strand each year, representing, in the last ten years, 14 species of cetaceans and five
species of pinnipeds. These species include for instance, common and bottlenose
dolphins, harbour porpoises, but also larger animals like minke whales and fin whales.
Some rare stranding events include deep-diving or exotic species, such as arctic
seals.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by Pensoft Publishers. The original
story is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Note: Materials may be edited
for content and length.
Journal Reference:
1. Eric Alfonsi, Eleonore Mheust, Sandra Fuchs, Franois-Gilles Carpentier, Yann
Quillivic, Amlia Viricel, Sami Hassani, Jean-Luc Jung. The use of DNA
barcoding to monitor the marine mammal biodiversity along the French
Atlantic coast. ZooKeys, 2013; 365: 5 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.365.5873
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