Brief Report

Strengthening the DNA barcode reference library for South African estuarine macrofauna

Published in: African Journal of Marine Science
Volume 43 , issue 1 , 2021 , pages: 141–145

DOI: 10.2989/1814232X.2021.1886988

Author(s): C Fagg , South Africa , NL Phair , South Africa , L Claassens , South Africa , RSK Barnes , South Africa , S von der Heyden , South Africa

Keywords: biomonitoring , DNA barcoding , estuarine biodiversity , invertebrates , Knysna Lagoon , mtDNA-COI , seagrass meadows

Download full text Get new issue alerts

Abstract

Seagrass ecosystems face many anthropogenic pressures, yet globally there is a lack of knowledge of their associated biodiversity. Molecular barcoding can aid in biomonitoring efforts, but few South African invertebrates are accounted for. We provide 48 new sequences for 15 invertebrate species across a range of taxonomic groups sampled from Zostera capensis meadows, eight of which were not previously barcoded. Our work presents an important effort to strengthen the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (mtDNA-COI) reference database for estuarine macrofauna in South Africa, supporting regional and global conservation efforts.

« Large-scale movements and site fidelity of two bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas estimated from a double-tagging experiment at Réunion Island (southwest Indian Ocean)

Mobilisation and dynamics of energy reserves in different tissues of Donax trunculus (Bivalvia: Donacidae) in the Gulf of Tunis (eastern Mediterranean Sea, Tunisia) »