BU BIOLOGIST DISCOVERS DIVERSITY IN MANTIS SHRIMP UNDERESTIMATED

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BU BIOLOGIST DISCOVERS DIVERSITY IN MANTIS SHRIMP UNDERESTIMATED
11 May 2006 - Boston University

There is a push to document the biodiversity of the world within 25 years. However, the magnitude of this challenge is not well known, especially when it comes to vast and often inaccessible marine environments. To date, surveys of species diversity in the world's oceans have focused on adult organisms, but new research from Boston University has found that studying marine life in its larval phase with DNA barcoding is a valuable way to estimate biodiversity.

Using this novel approach, Paul Barber, an assistant professor of biology at BU, discovered that biodiversity is greatly underestimated in the region of the Pacific known as the "Coral Triangle" and in the Red Sea. The study, which focused on coral reef-dwelling mantis shrimp (stomatopods), is the first to compare larval stage organisms to adults.

Through DNA barcoding, a new method not commonly used in aquatic settings, Dr. Barber and his colleague, Sarah Boyce of Harvard University, compared the DNA sequences of a random sampling of stomatopod larvae to a sequence database of most known mature species of mantis shrimp. The comparisons revealed numerous new varieties of shrimp that are completely unknown in their adult forms.

"Our results show that biodiversity in mantis shrimp in these regions is estimated to be at least 50 to 150 percent higher than presently believed," said Barber. "Given that few groups of marine organisms are as well studied as mantis shrimp, the biodiversity in other groups is likely even more poorly known. What’s unique about this study is that we didn’t just discover new species, we used DNA barcoding to quantify how much biodiversity is out there that we don’t know about."

According to Barber, the results suggest that examining marine life in the larval stage offers a new and highly effective way to estimate biodiversity since most organisms have a developmental phase where minute larvae disperse on ocean currents.

"For some groups of organisms, scientists can more easily collect larvae for sampling since the habitats of the mature marine species can be totally unreachable," said Barber. "This method gives us a better idea of how well we know a particular area. There may be parts of the world that we think we know a lot about, like the Caribbean for example, but the sequencing of larva there may uncover countless more species that we never knew existed."

In addition to an alternative way to explore marine biodiversity, Barber hopes the findings will promote conservation. Despite being considered a "biodiversity hotspot," the Coral Triangle is one of the most threatened marine environments in the world. Often areas with particularly high rates of biodiversity are targeted for conservation, so the new method could help by highlighting potential regions for protection.

Barber also believes this new information will move scientists one step closer to the goal of documenting the entire world’s species, both in aquatic and terrestrial settings.

Recently published online, the study will appear in the August 7, 2006 issue of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

Boston University’s Marine Biology Program is located in Woods Hole, MA, on Cape Cod. The site provides faculty and students with access to diverse estuarine and marine habitats and the opportunity to conduct research involving tidal, deep-ocean, and salt marsh environments. Faculty also maintain field research programs worldwide, including the central Pacific, the Caribbean, the interior of Mexico as well as the Gulf of California off the Baja Peninsula, the Great Barrier Reef, and the Red Sea.

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Boston University has a well-deserved reputation for excellence in research in a wide range of disciplines and a demonstrated commitment to fostering innovative interdisciplinary research. The Office of the Associate Provost for Research and Graduate Education supports the University in facilitating research at the both the student and faculty levels.

Our mission is to enhance and encourage research at Boston University and to provide a climate conducive to maintaining the University at the cutting edge of research and scholarly activities.

We work with the Boston University community to plan and coordinate interdisciplinary research and represent the University in research matters related to Inter-University consortia. To encourage new, innovative, and cross-disciplinary efforts, this office administers the Special Program for Research Initiation Grants (SPRInG).

We showcase graduate research at Science & Technology Day. This annual event features nearly 200 research posters by graduate students from both the Medical and Charles River Campuses working in a wide range of disciplines.

Our annual research magazine, Research at Boston University, informs a wide audience about a selection of our significant research findings and ongoing studies at Boston University. We also maintain a strong presence on the web through this site and through the Science Coalition’s website, which brings our research successes to the attention of Congress and other policy makers in the federal government.

To assist Boston University researchers, this office oversees the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and coordinates with the Office of Sponsored Programs on the Charles River Campus , the research administration on the Medical Campus, the Office of Research Compliance, and the various graduate programs. For the development of commercially viable ideas, we administer the Provost's Innovation Fund and work closely with the Office of Technology Transfer. We also coordinate proposals where there are institutional limits to the number of proposals that may be submitted, cost sharing requirements, significant laboratory renovations, or other special circumstances.

This office assists departments and centers to achieve a diverse faculty and graduate student body through our membership and activities with the Northeast Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate and through our affiliation with the Clare Boothe Luce program of the Henry Luce Foundation.

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