Integrative taxonomy on the fast track - towards more sustainability in biodiversity research

Abstract

BackgroundA so called “taxonomic impediment” has been recognized as a major obstacle to biodiversity research for the past two decades. Numerous remedies were then proposed. However, neither significant progress in terms of formal species descriptions, nor a minimum standard for descriptions have been achieved so far. Here, we analyze the problems of traditional taxonomy which often produces keys and descriptions of limited practical value. We suggest that phylogenetics and phenetics had a subtle and so far unnoticed effect on taxonomy leading to inflated species descriptions.DiscussionThe term “turbo-taxonomy” was recently coined for an approach combining cox1 sequences, concise morphological descriptions by an expert taxonomist, and high-resolution digital imaging to streamline the formal description of larger numbers of new species. We propose a further development of this approach which, together with open access web-publication and automated pushing of content from journal into a wiki, may create the most efficient and sustainable way to conduct taxonomy in the future. On demand, highly concise descriptions can be gradually updated or modified in the fully versioned wiki-framework we use. This means that the visibility of additional data is not compromised, while the original species description -the first version- remains preserved in the wiki, and of course in the journal version. A DNA sequence database with an identification engine replaces an identification key, helps to avoid synonyms and has the potential to detect grossly incorrect generic placements. We demonstrate the functionality of a species-description pipeline by naming 101 new species of hyperdiverse New Guinea Trigonopterus weevils in the open-access journal ZooKeys.SummaryFast track taxonomy will not only increase speed, but also sustainability of global species inventories. It will be of great practical value to all the other disciplines that depend on a usable taxonomy and will change our perception of global biodiversity. While this approach is certainly not suitable for all taxa alike, it is the tool that will help to tackle many hyperdiverse groups and pave the road for more sustainable comparative studies, e.g. in community ecology, phylogeography and large scale biogeographic studies.

DNA Barcoding Indonesian freshwater fishes: challenges and prospects

“…Recently, the effectiveness of such iterative procedures including DNA barcoding, taxonomy and natural history in the delineation of species has been highlighted in speciose communities [27,[186][187][188]. Procedures including DNA barcoding as a first step toward the fast description of species based on the combination of COI sequences, concise morphological descriptions, and high-resolution digital imaging enable the description of larger number of species.…”

“…Procedures including DNA barcoding as a first step toward the fast description of species based on the combination of COI sequences, concise morphological descriptions, and high-resolution digital imaging enable the description of larger number of species. In addition, the automated and objective classification of mitochondrial lineages enabled by the use of DNA barcode reference libraries provides a potential solution to the time consuming sorting of specimens during inventories of speciose, yet unknown fauna [187,188]. This procedure enables to speed up the taxonomic workflow through a preliminary sorting of specimens according to their DNA barcodes followed by an iterative procedure involving natural history, morphology and DNA barcoding [e.g.…”

Morphologic and molecular description of Metopus fuscus Kahl from North America and new rDNA sequences from seven metopids (Armophorea, Metopidae)

“…Ideally, the principle of "integrative taxonomy" will be brought to bear on this problem. This method combines concise morphologic description and molecular barcoding, correlating both with ecologic characterization for species identification (Riedel et al 2013). We believe that the morphospecies concept remains valuable and can be an important component of this approach when based on detailed morphologic and morphogenetic data.…”

A histology-free description of the branched-proboscis ribbonworm Gorgonorhynchus albocinctus sp. nov. (Nemertea: Heteronemertea)

“…Heteronemertea) but also of little help in species identification. In a way, Strand and Sundberg (2011) appear to coincide with a recently-proposed approach called "turbo-taxonomy" (Butcher et al, 2012;Riedel et al, 2013) that aims fast species descriptions combining cyto-chrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene sequences, concise morphological descriptions, and high-resolution digital imaging.…”