Abstract
Although mites are one of the most abundant and diverse groups of arthropods, they are rarely targeted for detailed biodiversity surveys due to taxonomic constraints. We address this gap through DNA barcoding, evaluating acarine diversity at Churchill, Manitoba, a site on the tundra-taiga transition. Barcode analysis of 6279 specimens revealed nearly 900 presumptive species of mites with high species turnover between substrates and between forested and non-forested sites. Accumulation curves have not reached an asymptote for any of the three mite orders investigated, and estimates suggest that more than 1200 species of Acari occur at this locality. The coupling of DNA barcode results with taxonomic assignments revealed that Trombidiformes compose 49% of the fauna, a larger fraction than expected based on prior studies. This investigation demonstrates the efficacy of DNA barcoding in facilitating biodiversity assessments of hyperdiverse taxa.
Highlights
Species identification and discovery has been greatly accelerated by DNA barcoding, the analysis of sequence variation in a 648 base pair segment of the mitochondrial CO1 gene [1]
DNA barcoding has been successful in many animal groups [1,2,3,4], reflecting the fact that intraspecific sequence variation is consistently low, typically a fraction of a percent, while interspecific divergence usually exceeds 2%
The congruence in patterns of sequence variation across different taxonomic lineages allows the use of DNA barcodes to explore biodiversity in groups which lack a well-developed taxonomic framework
Summary
Species identification and discovery has been greatly accelerated by DNA barcoding, the analysis of sequence variation in a 648 base pair segment of the mitochondrial CO1 gene [1]. DNA barcoding has been successful in many animal groups [1,2,3,4], reflecting the fact that intraspecific sequence variation is consistently low, typically a fraction of a percent, while interspecific divergence usually exceeds 2%. The congruence in patterns of sequence variation across different taxonomic lineages allows the use of DNA barcodes to explore biodiversity in groups which lack a well-developed taxonomic framework. It facilitates rapid diversity assessment in such cases by enabling the delineation of MOTUs, molecular operational taxonomic units [7]. Because the quantification of biodiversity is transparent and reproducible, DNA barcoding is becoming a standard practice for assessing diversity patterns in poorly known taxa [4,8,9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
