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Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: advances and challenges in DNA-based approaches
Citation:
Pfrender, M. E., C. P. Hawkins, M. BAGLEY, G. Courtney, B. R. Creutzburg, J. H. Epler, S. Fend, L. C. Ferrington, P. L. Hartzell, S. A. JACKSON, D. P. LARSEN, C. Levesque, J. C. Morse, M. Petersen, D. Ruiter, D. Schindel, AND M. Whiting. Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: advances and challenges in DNA-based approaches. QUARTERLY REVIEW OF BIOLOGY. Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA, 85(3):391-340, (2010).
Impact/Purpose:
Establish most efficient and rapid methodologies for incorporating DNA taxonomy into ecological assessments.
Description:
Assessing the biodiversity of macroinvertebrate faunas 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 resolutin and sample size. Morphological-based identifications are laborious and costly, which significantly constrains 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 fo the limitations to current biodiversity assessment strategies. We discuss the benefits and challenges associated with DNA-based assessments and c urrently available methods. Recent advances in microarray and next-generation sequencing technologies will facilitate a transition to DNA-based assessment approaches. Research efforts should focus on methods for data collection, assay platform development, establishing linkages between DNA signatures and well-resolved taxonomies, and bioinformatics.
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Assessing macroinvertebrate biodiversity in freshwater ecosystems: advances and challenges in DNA-based approaches