Tag Archive for: citizen science

ABOL BioBlitz in the Barcode Bulletin

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ABOL BioBlitz events are used to digitize taxonomic expertise in the context of the Days of Biodiversity – this is a way how rare, private biodiversity knowledge can be made available to society. This is the central message of an article recently published in the Barcode Bulletin (iBOL).
In times of rapid loss of biodiversity, we are faced with the challenge of generating reliable biodiversity data as fast as possible and making it accessible. A substantial part of the knowledge about biodiversity – e.g. about certain insect groups – are owned by private experts, often only by a few people. During the Days of Biodiversity, which take place annually in almost all federal states, valuable data is generated and genetically underpinned by means of DNA barcoding as part of the ABOL BioBlitz  efforts and made universally available via the international BOLD database.
Read more on this topic in our article “ABOL BIOBLITZ: DNA BARCODING SAFEGUARDS TAXONOMIC KNOWLEDGE – The Austrian Barcode of Life (ABOL) initiative uses DNA barcoding to safeguard and make publicly accessible rare knowledge on biodiversity generated in the course of local BioBlitz events”

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New literatur on DNA barcoding

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Who does not know them from the own garden, the Spanish slug? A study at the BOKU Vienna showed that Citizen Scientists can contribute to investigate the abundance of slugs of the genus Arion in private gardens. The quality of determinations could be kept high in the study by using the DNA barcoding approach. The publication is freely available at https://bmcecol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12898-018-0179-7.

 

In keeping with the theme of a workshop held in the context of this year’s ABOL conference, a review will be devoted to the topic “Genetic methods in biological assessment of aquatic habitats”. The paper provides information on the benefits and pitfalls of (e)DNA metabarcoding approaches for calculating biotic indices, provides insights into potential future developments, and provides recommendations for the future integration of DNA metabarcoding to routine biomonitoring programs. The publication can be found at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969718316322.

 

Two publications on alpine moth species show benefits, firstly of integrative approaches, and secondly of international collaboration within the DNA barcoding community.

A comparison of representatives of the Agrotis fatidica species-group from the Alps, the Pyrenees, the Apennines and southern Norway led to the description of two new species. The publication can be found at https://nl.pensoft.net/article/23090/.

Among other things, a study on representatives of the genus Udea found evidence of hybridization between two species. The publication can be downloaded at https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/22020/.

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