Open AccessDNA barcoding Brooklyn (New York): A first assessment of biodiversity in Marine Park by citizen scientists
Author(s) -
Christine Marizzi,
Antonia M. Florio,
Melissa Lee,
Mohammed Khalfan,
Cornel Ghiban,
Bruce Nash,
Jenna E. Dorey,
Sean K. McKenzie,
Christine Mazza,
Fabiana Cellini,
Carlo Baria,
Ron Bepat,
Lena Cosentino,
Alexander Dvorak,
Amina Gacevic,
Cristina Guzman-Moumtzis,
Francesca Heller,
Nicholas Alexander Holt,
Jeffrey Horenstein,
Vincent Joralemon,
Manpreet Kaur,
Tanveer Kaur,
Armani Khan,
Jessica Kuppan,
Scott Laverty,
C. A. M. Lock,
Marianne Pena,
Ilona Petrychyn,
Indu Puthenkalam,
Daval Ram,
Arlene Ramos,
Noelle Scoca,
Rachel Sin,
Izabel Gonzalez,
Akansha Thakur,
Husan Usmanov,
Karen F. Han,
Andy Wu,
Tiger Zhu,
David Micklos
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0199015
Subject(s) - dna barcoding , genbank , biodiversity , taxonomy (biology) , biology , identification (biology) , molecular taxonomy , evolutionary biology , species identification , computational biology , ecology , genetics , phylogenetics , gene
DNA barcoding is both an important research and science education tool. The technique allows for quick and accurate species identification using only minimal amounts of tissue samples taken from any organism at any developmental phase. DNA barcoding has many practical applications including furthering the study of taxonomy and monitoring biodiversity. In addition to these uses, DNA barcoding is a powerful tool to empower, engage, and educate students in the scientific method while conducting productive and creative research. The study presented here provides the first assessment of Marine Park (Brooklyn, New York, USA) biodiversity using DNA barcoding. New York City citizen scientists (high school students and their teachers) were trained to identify species using DNA barcoding during a two–week long institute. By performing NCBI GenBank BLAST searches, students taxonomically identified 187 samples (1 fungus, 70 animals and 116 plants) and also published 12 novel DNA barcodes on GenBank. Students also identified 7 ant species and demonstrated the potential of DNA barcoding for identification of this especially diverse group when coupled with traditional taxonomy using morphology. Here we outline how DNA barcoding allows citizen scientists to make preliminary taxonomic identifications and contribute to modern biodiversity research.