DNA barcoding has attracted attention with promises to aid in species identification and discovery; however, few well-sampled datasets are available to test its performance. We provide the first examination of barcoding performance in a comprehensively sampled, diverse group (cypraeid marine gastropods, or cowries). We utilize previous methods for testing performance and employ a novel phylogenetic approach to calculate intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence. Error rates are estimated for (1) identifying samples against a well-characterized phylogeny, and (2) assisting in species discovery for partially known groups. We find that the lowest overall error for species identification is 4%. In contrast, barcoding performs poorly in incompletely sampled groups. Here, species delineation relies on the use of thresholds, set to differentiate between intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence. Whereas proponents envision a “barcoding gap” between the two, we find substantial overlap, leading to minimal error rates of ~17% in cowries. Moreover, error rates double if only traditionally recognized species are analyzed. Thus, DNA barcoding holds promise for identification in taxonomically well-understood and thoroughly sampled clades. However, the use of thresholds does not bode well for delineating closely related species in taxonomically understudied groups. The promise of barcoding will be realized only if based on solid taxonomic foundations.

Effective conservation requires rigorous baselines of pristine conditions to assess the impacts of human activities and to evaluate the efficacy of management. Most coral reefs are moderately to severely degraded by local human activities such as fishing and pollution as well as global change, hence it is difficult to separate local from global effects. To this end, we surveyed coral reefs on uninhabited atolls in the northern Line Islands to provide a baseline of reef community structure, and on increasingly populated atolls to document changes associated with human activities. We found that top predators and reef-building organisms dominated unpopulated Kingman and Palmyra, while small planktivorous fishes and fleshy algae dominated the populated atolls of Tabuaeran and Kiritimati. Sharks and other top predators overwhelmed the fish assemblages on Kingman and Palmyra so that the biomass pyramid was inverted (top-heavy). In contrast, the biomass pyramid at Tabuaeran and Kiritimati exhibited the typical bottom-heavy pattern. Reefs without people exhibited less coral disease and greater coral recruitment relative to more inhabited reefs. Thus, protection from overfishing and pollution appears to increase the resilience of reef ecosystems to the effects of global warming.

Currently, between one-third and two-thirds of marine species may be undescribed, and previous estimates of there being well over one million marine species appear highly unlikely. More species than ever before are being described annually by an increasing number of authors. If the current trend continues, most species will be discovered this century.