An Analysis on the Compatibility of DNABarcoding and Morphological Taxonomy using Pheidole Ants and the COI Gene

Abstract

Biological conservation efforts require an in-depth analysis and understanding of the biodiversity and species richness of an ecosystem. Ants can be used to assess the health of an ecosystem, due to their importance and relative affluence. Pheidole, a dominant genus of ant, is found across the globe. Morphological analysis on specimens has identified several abundant species within the genus. Using DNA barcoding of cytochrome oxidase subunit I, several important observations have been made. The abundant species appear to be composed of several similar yet distinct species (possibly subspecies), supported by the evolutionary tree developed in Paup. Data analysis supports the hypothesis that DNA barcoding is compatible with morphology-based taxonomy on the ability to distinguish between species. This compatibility suggests that using both morphology and DNA barcoding could increase the number of species known within the Pheidole genus, as well as help identify and classify morphospecies and cryptic species. A more accurate knowledge of the diversity of ants within an ecosystem could then be applied to conservation efforts, helping to determine what areas would best benefit becoming wildlife sanctuaries. Acknowledgements: Funding for this study was provided by the Research Experience for Undergraduates 2007 Summer program. Thanks to Dr. LaPolla and Chiu Cheng for their morphological analysis and help with ant dismemberment and Laura Florez for her assistance in lab. I also wish to thank all the individuals at the Smithsonian Institute's Museum Support Center for their enormous help and advice. Reference: [1] Wilson E (2003) Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Ant Genus. Harvard University Press.