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Myth of the molecule: DNA barcodes for species cannot replace morphology for identification and classification
Author(s) -
Will Kipling W.,
Rubinoff Daniel
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
cladistics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.323
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 1096-0031
pISSN - 0748-3007
DOI - 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2003.00008.x
Subject(s) - identification (biology) , biodiversity , proposition , dna barcoding , interpretation (philosophy) , biology , computational biology , evolutionary biology , computer science , ecology , epistemology , philosophy , programming language
Abstract So‐called DNA barcodes have recently been proposed to answer the problem of specimen identification and to quantify global biodiversity. We show that this proposition is wanting in terms of rationale, methodology and interpretation of results. In addition to falling short of all its stated goals, the method abandons the benefits of morphological studies in favor of a limited molecular identification system that would ultimately impede our understanding of biodiversity.