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These results illustrate how a comprehensive DNA barcode reference library can identify unknown specimens, but also reveal how this potential is constrained by gaps in the quantity and quality of records in BOLD, especially for Hymenoptera and Diptera. As voucher specimens are available for morphological study, we invite taxonomic experts to assist in the identification of unnamed BINs.
This is taken from an abstract of a new paper that came out yesterday in the Biodiversity Data Journal. It involves data collected as part of the so called Global Malaise Trap program which is an international collaboration between the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics and a number of international partners. The program started in 2012 and represents the a first attempt at the acquisition of detailed temporal and spatial information on terrestrial arthropod communities across the globe. Malaise traps are deployed over an entire season in order to obtain tissue material and subsequently determine species diversity using DNA barcoding.
The number of arthropod specimens such surveys produce are quite impressive, e.g. the study done at two sites in Germany in 2012 and 2013 resulted in 37,274 specimens that were DNA barcoded. In total they found 5301 different BINs which represent about 63% of the total diversity collected in a single experiment. The Global Malaise Trap Program has partnered with 30 different sites across the planet. There is a lot of data to look forward to.
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