Biodiversity Institute of Ontario, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph Ontario, N1G 2W1, Canada.
Front Zool. 2009 Dec 10;6:31. doi: 10.1186/1742-9994-6-31.
Using an understudied taxon (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) found on a tropical island (Mauritius) where native flora and fauna have been threatened by 400 years of habitat modification and introduced species, we tested whether estimated incidences of diversity and complementarity were similar when measured by standard morphological alpha-taxonomy or phylogenetic diversity (PD) based on a standardized mitochondrial barcode and corroborating nuclear marker.
We found that costs related to site loss (considered loss of evolutionary history measured as loss of barcode PD) were not significantly different from predictions made either a) using standard morphology-based taxonomy, or b) measured using a nuclear marker. Integrating morphology and barcode results permitted us to identify a case of initially morphologically-cryptic variation as a new and endemic candidate species. However, barcode estimates of the relative importance of each site or network of sites were dramatically affected when the species in question was known to be indigenous or introduced.
This study goes beyond a mere demonstration of the rapid gains possible for diversity assessment using a standardized DNA barcode. Contextualization of these gains with ecological and natural history information is necessary to calibrate this wealth of standardized information. Without such an integrative approach, critical opportunities to advance knowledge will be missed.
本研究以一种研究较少的热带岛屿（毛里求斯）上的特有物种（膜翅目，蚁科）为研究对象，该岛屿的本地动植物在过去 400 年的时间里受到了栖息地改变和引入物种的威胁。我们通过标准化的线粒体条码和核标记来验证标准形态学α分类学或基于系统发育多样性（PD）测量时，多样性和互补性的估计发生率是否相似。
我们发现，与位点损失相关的成本（被认为是进化历史的损失，即条码 PD 的损失）与以下两种预测没有显著差异：a）基于标准形态分类学的预测，或 b）使用核标记进行的预测。整合形态学和条码结果使我们能够确定一个最初在形态上具有隐秘性的变异为一个新的和特有候选种。然而，当所研究的物种是本地种或引入种时，条码对每个地点或地点网络的相对重要性的估计会受到极大的影响。
本研究不仅仅是对使用标准化 DNA 条码进行多样性评估的快速进展的展示。必须将这些收益与生态和自然历史信息联系起来，以校准这些标准化信息的丰富程度。如果没有这种综合的方法，就会错失推进知识的关键机会。
