This study summarizes results of a DNA barcoding campaign on German Diptera, involving analysis o... more This study summarizes results of a DNA barcoding campaign on German Diptera, involving analysis of 45,040 specimens. The resultant DNA barcode library includes records for 2,453 named species comprising a total of 5,200 barcode index numbers (BINs), including 2,700 COI haplotype clusters without species‐level assignment, so called “dark taxa.” Overall, 88 out of 117 families (75%) recorded from Germany were covered, representing more than 50% of the 9,544 known species of German Diptera. Until now, most of these families, especially the most diverse, have been taxonomically inaccessible. By contrast, within a few years this study provided an intermediate taxonomic system for half of the German Dipteran fauna, which will provide a useful foundation for subsequent detailed, integrative taxonomic studies. Using DNA extracts derived from bulk collections made by Malaise traps, we further demonstrate that species delineation using BINs and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) constitutes a...
We present a DNA barcoding study on the insect order Orthoptera that was generated in collaborati... more We present a DNA barcoding study on the insect order Orthoptera that was generated in collaboration between four barcoding projects in three countries, viz. Barcoding Fauna Bavarica (Germany), German Barcode of Life, Austrian Barcode of Life and Swiss Barcode of Life. Our data set includes 748 COI sequences from 127 of the 162 taxa (78.4%) recorded in the three countries involved. Ninety‐three of these 122 species (76.2%, including all Ensifera) can be reliably identified using DNA barcodes. The remaining 26 caeliferan species (families Acrididae and Tetrigidae) form ten clusters that share barcodes among up to five species, in three cases even across different genera, and in six cases even sharing individual barcodes. We discuss incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization as most likely causes of this phenomenon, as the species concerned are phylogenetically young and hybridization has been previously observed. We also highlight the problem of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (nu...
Biodiversity loss is mainly driven by human activity. While concern grows over the fate of hot sp... more Biodiversity loss is mainly driven by human activity. While concern grows over the fate of hot spots of biodiversity, contemporary species losses still prevail in industrialized nations. Therefore, strategies were formulated to halt or reverse the loss, driven by evidence for its value for ecosystem services. Maintenance of the latter through conservation depends on correctly identified species. To this aim, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the GBOL project, a consortium of natural history collections, botanic gardens, and universities working on a barcode reference database for the country’s fauna and flora. Several noticeable findings could be useful for future campaigns: (i) validating taxon lists to serve as a taxonomic backbone is time-consuming, but without alternative; (ii) offering financial incentives to taxonomic experts, often citizen scientists, is indispensable; (iii) completion of the libraries for widespread species enables analyses of ...
New material and new methodologies substantially widen the anatomical knowledge on cocculinid lim... more New material and new methodologies substantially widen the anatomical knowledge on cocculinid limpets. We first provide 3D-anatomies of Fedikovella caymanensis and Teuthirostria cancellata based on serial sections. Both species differ in several major points (mainly the gill-type and several features of the alimentary tract) from typical cocculinids, accordingly they are classified in a new clade, Teuthirostriidae fam. nov. Specimens studied by McLean and Harasewych (LA County Mus Contrib Sci 453:1–33, 1995) under “Fedikovella beanii” probably represent another species new to science. Additional investigations of original (type) section series of Cocculina laevis Thiele, 1904 (type species of Paracocculina Haszprunar, 1987) and of Cocculina radiata Thiele, 1904 (type species of Coccocrater Haszprunar, 1987) imply some nomenclatorial revisions: Cocculina cervae Fleming, 1948 is designated as type species of Pedococculina gen. nov. Anatomical characters confirm the subsequent placemen...
As a relatively new technology, DNA metabarcoding has already shown potential for a wide variety ... more As a relatively new technology, DNA metabarcoding has already shown potential for a wide variety of practical applications. Biodiversity monitoring is a discipline of particular importance currently, as hundreds or thousands of species become extinct each year, and most extant species remain undescribed. Metabarcoding can greatly assist in increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of large-scale biodiversity monitoring campaigns, but development and improvement of techniques involved in the steps of a metabarcoding pipeline, from DNA extraction through taxonomic identification of sequence data, are still needed. Projects presented in this thesis cover a range of applications of DNA metabarcoding, from biodiversity monitoring of terrestrial invertebrates, to forensic entomology, reverse taxonomy, and the quality control of food, beverage, and novel food products. A multi-year biomonitoring survey with a special focus on early detection of invasive and/or pest species was conducted...
Die Größe von Organismen ist ein vielschichtiges Phänomen, welches bei allen biologischen Überleg... more Die Größe von Organismen ist ein vielschichtiges Phänomen, welches bei allen biologischen Überlegungen zu funktionellen Fragen nicht ignoriert werden sollte, sei es nun bezüglich des Organismus selbst (Funktionsmorphologie, Physiologie, Reproduktionsbiologie), seiner Umwelt (Autökologie) oder aber zum Verständnis der Evolution.
Determining the size of the German insect fauna requires better knowledge of several megadiverse ... more Determining the size of the German insect fauna requires better knowledge of several megadiverse families of Diptera and Hymenoptera that are taxonomically challenging. This study takes the first step in assessing these “dark taxa” families and provides species estimates for four challenging groups of Diptera (Cecidomyiidae, Chironomidae, Phoridae, and Sciaridae). These estimates are based on more than 48,000 DNA barcodes (COI) from Diptera collected by Malaise traps that were deployed in southern Germany. We assessed the fraction of German species belonging to 11 fly families with well-studied taxonomy in these samples. The resultant ratios were then used to estimate the species richness of the four “dark taxa” families (DT families hereafter). Our results suggest a surprisingly high proportion of undetected biodiversity in a supposedly well-investigated country: at least 1800–2200 species await discovery in Germany in these four families. As this estimate is based on collections f...
This study provides a DNA barcode library for 1264 of the 1338 species of butterflies and larger ... more This study provides a DNA barcode library for 1264 of the 1338 species of butterflies and larger moths (Rhopalocera and Macroheterocera) of Germany. These results arise from a research program established by the State of Bavaria which is constructing a DNA barcode library for all animal species within its territorial boundaries. Open access is provided to a data set that includes records for 3467 specimens (957 species) from Germany. An additional 307 species of the German fauna are represented by barcode data specimens collected in other European nations. Most (99 %) of the 957 species from the study area were found to possess diagnostic barcode sequences. A few taxa which apparently share DNA barcodes are discussed in detail. Deep intraspecific sequence divergences (> 2 %) were detected in 32 traditionally recognized species which are undergoing more detailed analysis to ascertain whether they represent cases of cryptic diversity. The study reinforces the effectiveness of DNA b...
This study summarizes results of a DNA barcoding campaign on German Diptera, involving analysis o... more This study summarizes results of a DNA barcoding campaign on German Diptera, involving analysis of 45,040 specimens. The resultant DNA barcode library includes records for 2,453 named species comprising a total of 5,200 barcode index numbers (BINs), including 2,700 COI haplotype clusters without species‐level assignment, so called “dark taxa.” Overall, 88 out of 117 families (75%) recorded from Germany were covered, representing more than 50% of the 9,544 known species of German Diptera. Until now, most of these families, especially the most diverse, have been taxonomically inaccessible. By contrast, within a few years this study provided an intermediate taxonomic system for half of the German Dipteran fauna, which will provide a useful foundation for subsequent detailed, integrative taxonomic studies. Using DNA extracts derived from bulk collections made by Malaise traps, we further demonstrate that species delineation using BINs and operational taxonomic units (OTUs) constitutes a...
We present a DNA barcoding study on the insect order Orthoptera that was generated in collaborati... more We present a DNA barcoding study on the insect order Orthoptera that was generated in collaboration between four barcoding projects in three countries, viz. Barcoding Fauna Bavarica (Germany), German Barcode of Life, Austrian Barcode of Life and Swiss Barcode of Life. Our data set includes 748 COI sequences from 127 of the 162 taxa (78.4%) recorded in the three countries involved. Ninety‐three of these 122 species (76.2%, including all Ensifera) can be reliably identified using DNA barcodes. The remaining 26 caeliferan species (families Acrididae and Tetrigidae) form ten clusters that share barcodes among up to five species, in three cases even across different genera, and in six cases even sharing individual barcodes. We discuss incomplete lineage sorting and hybridization as most likely causes of this phenomenon, as the species concerned are phylogenetically young and hybridization has been previously observed. We also highlight the problem of nuclear mitochondrial pseudogenes (nu...
Biodiversity loss is mainly driven by human activity. While concern grows over the fate of hot sp... more Biodiversity loss is mainly driven by human activity. While concern grows over the fate of hot spots of biodiversity, contemporary species losses still prevail in industrialized nations. Therefore, strategies were formulated to halt or reverse the loss, driven by evidence for its value for ecosystem services. Maintenance of the latter through conservation depends on correctly identified species. To this aim, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research is funding the GBOL project, a consortium of natural history collections, botanic gardens, and universities working on a barcode reference database for the country’s fauna and flora. Several noticeable findings could be useful for future campaigns: (i) validating taxon lists to serve as a taxonomic backbone is time-consuming, but without alternative; (ii) offering financial incentives to taxonomic experts, often citizen scientists, is indispensable; (iii) completion of the libraries for widespread species enables analyses of ...
New material and new methodologies substantially widen the anatomical knowledge on cocculinid lim... more New material and new methodologies substantially widen the anatomical knowledge on cocculinid limpets. We first provide 3D-anatomies of Fedikovella caymanensis and Teuthirostria cancellata based on serial sections. Both species differ in several major points (mainly the gill-type and several features of the alimentary tract) from typical cocculinids, accordingly they are classified in a new clade, Teuthirostriidae fam. nov. Specimens studied by McLean and Harasewych (LA County Mus Contrib Sci 453:1–33, 1995) under “Fedikovella beanii” probably represent another species new to science. Additional investigations of original (type) section series of Cocculina laevis Thiele, 1904 (type species of Paracocculina Haszprunar, 1987) and of Cocculina radiata Thiele, 1904 (type species of Coccocrater Haszprunar, 1987) imply some nomenclatorial revisions: Cocculina cervae Fleming, 1948 is designated as type species of Pedococculina gen. nov. Anatomical characters confirm the subsequent placemen...
As a relatively new technology, DNA metabarcoding has already shown potential for a wide variety ... more As a relatively new technology, DNA metabarcoding has already shown potential for a wide variety of practical applications. Biodiversity monitoring is a discipline of particular importance currently, as hundreds or thousands of species become extinct each year, and most extant species remain undescribed. Metabarcoding can greatly assist in increasing the speed and decreasing the cost of large-scale biodiversity monitoring campaigns, but development and improvement of techniques involved in the steps of a metabarcoding pipeline, from DNA extraction through taxonomic identification of sequence data, are still needed. Projects presented in this thesis cover a range of applications of DNA metabarcoding, from biodiversity monitoring of terrestrial invertebrates, to forensic entomology, reverse taxonomy, and the quality control of food, beverage, and novel food products. A multi-year biomonitoring survey with a special focus on early detection of invasive and/or pest species was conducted...
Die Größe von Organismen ist ein vielschichtiges Phänomen, welches bei allen biologischen Überleg... more Die Größe von Organismen ist ein vielschichtiges Phänomen, welches bei allen biologischen Überlegungen zu funktionellen Fragen nicht ignoriert werden sollte, sei es nun bezüglich des Organismus selbst (Funktionsmorphologie, Physiologie, Reproduktionsbiologie), seiner Umwelt (Autökologie) oder aber zum Verständnis der Evolution.
Determining the size of the German insect fauna requires better knowledge of several megadiverse ... more Determining the size of the German insect fauna requires better knowledge of several megadiverse families of Diptera and Hymenoptera that are taxonomically challenging. This study takes the first step in assessing these “dark taxa” families and provides species estimates for four challenging groups of Diptera (Cecidomyiidae, Chironomidae, Phoridae, and Sciaridae). These estimates are based on more than 48,000 DNA barcodes (COI) from Diptera collected by Malaise traps that were deployed in southern Germany. We assessed the fraction of German species belonging to 11 fly families with well-studied taxonomy in these samples. The resultant ratios were then used to estimate the species richness of the four “dark taxa” families (DT families hereafter). Our results suggest a surprisingly high proportion of undetected biodiversity in a supposedly well-investigated country: at least 1800–2200 species await discovery in Germany in these four families. As this estimate is based on collections f...
This study provides a DNA barcode library for 1264 of the 1338 species of butterflies and larger ... more This study provides a DNA barcode library for 1264 of the 1338 species of butterflies and larger moths (Rhopalocera and Macroheterocera) of Germany. These results arise from a research program established by the State of Bavaria which is constructing a DNA barcode library for all animal species within its territorial boundaries. Open access is provided to a data set that includes records for 3467 specimens (957 species) from Germany. An additional 307 species of the German fauna are represented by barcode data specimens collected in other European nations. Most (99 %) of the 957 species from the study area were found to possess diagnostic barcode sequences. A few taxa which apparently share DNA barcodes are discussed in detail. Deep intraspecific sequence divergences (> 2 %) were detected in 32 traditionally recognized species which are undergoing more detailed analysis to ascertain whether they represent cases of cryptic diversity. The study reinforces the effectiveness of DNA b...
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Papers by Gerhard Haszprunar