Recently, my frogs and toads reported for the first time have been rejected by certain journals because the paper lacked genetic data. Now, the question is "Do we need to really get genetic codes for all species?" How can genetic data which comes as the outcome of laboratory works help us identify species in the field? Or we just keep the species name as just certain frog or toad (just example) and keep waiting until a genetic work is done? Don't species evolve and change their genetic content based on their evolutionary traits over time? Do we really trust the genetic codes for species identifications?
Yes, genetics can help with field identification of wild biodiversity. By collecting genetic samples from animals and comparing them to known species, researchers can reliably identify species in the field without laboratory work. This type of genetic identification is often referred to as "DNA barcoding". With the help of DNA barcoding, scientists can quickly and accurately identify species, even those that may look similar to one another. This can help with reliable identification of species even when there are no clear set boundaries.
Good Question.
How can genetic data which comes as the outcome of laboratory works help us identify species in the field?
It cant help identification in field.
Morphological identification is the base for genetic identification. Genetic data alone could help group a set of species or identify a species. But for that we should have a complete genetic data for all the species. But, at present we do not have such huge data for all and everyday some species, somewhere, genetic data is added to the public data base.
When you do genetic analysis for the species that you have found new, you are adding a NEW GENETIC DATA that does not exist in the database.
In my view, Morphology is sufficient to publish if you justify with comparative analyses of closely related species.
Because, genetic data also have many problems, because each one do for some gene and now some shifted to full Genome and etc.... unless we have a universal gene for all species it will be very difficult to compare and make genetic data as authenticated data for all species. Hope this helps. Good Luck. Ben
Hello all; Careful DNA studies, both mitochondrial and nuclear, have revealed numberous undescribed ant species. They had been missed in classical morphological studies. Once highlighted, many of these taxa have been revealed to display various life history and geographical traits that explain their species distinctiveness. It looks like genetic studies can pick out species boundaries that aren't apparent otherwise.
As Andrew has pointed out, DNA from the environment can be quite useful. The most familiar example is wastewater sampling for pathogens in a community...polio, COVID, cholera, and the like. Best regards, Jim Des Lauriers
I should note - there are plenty of instances where researchers are legally forbidden from taking genetic data, as well as many species for which no genetic data even exists.
I think you gave me the best answer. I hope journals that want genetic information reads your answer @ J. BENJAMIN Franklin
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