DNA Barcoding of Austrian woodlice (Isopoda)
Woodlice (Isopoda) are key players of terrestrial soil ecosystems. Although woodlice have been intensely studied in the past, the last extensive revisions of the Austrian fauna date back to the 1940s to 1960s. Currently, 66 species or subspecies are listed for Austria. Another 14 species and subspecies had been listed for Austria in the 1950s, but these have been synonymized with other species since. However, first molecular results indicate the presence of additional cryptic species, which might correspond to some of these “historic” species. As part of this project, woodlice will be collected and DNA barcoded across Austria to generate a dense barcode library for this ecologically important group. This will be the foundation for long-term DNA-based monitoring projects and for evaluating their species diversity. Solving basic taxonomic questions will be one of the challenges in the project.
Project team
Dr. Martin Schwentner (NHM Wien)
Project status: ongoing
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