The Census of Marine Life issued a press release 4 May on a cruise to look at sea bugs deep beneath the Bermuda Triangle.
News
Vern Ruttan Article
Jesse’s comment about Vern Ruttan’s article on technologies that might transform the economy appeared in the spring issue of the journal Issues in Science and Technology.
China Maglev Progress
While we prefer lateral suspension approach to the German approach, we are pleased to observe China speeding along the learning curve for maglev technology.
Selective sweeps limit mitochondrial diversity in animals
An exciting paper in Science 28 April 2006 “Population size does not influence mitochondrial genetic diversity in animals” by Eric Bazin, Sylvain Glemin, and Nicolas Galtier from Universite Montpellier, France, calls into question current thinking in population genetics. The authors looked at intraspecific variation in nuclear and mitochondrial DNA using sequence data collected from public databases into Polymorphix database. Contrary to expectations from population genetic theory, there was “no correlation between mtDNA polymorphism and species abundance”. Analysis of non-synonymous (amino acid changing) and synonymous (silent) changes indicated that reduced mitochondrial diversity within species reflects positive selection. They conclude “mtDNA appears to be anything but a neutral marker and probably undergoes frequent adaptive evolution… mtDNA diversity will in many instances, reflect the time since the last event of selective sweep, rather than population history and demography.” Taken together, these findings help explain the general observation of constrained intraspecific mitochondrial variation in animals, even in organisms with enormous population sizes. Recurrent selective sweeps are natural tests of species boundaries and help explain why mtDNA genealogies generally capture the biological discontinuities recognized by taxonomists as species (Avise and Walker PNAS 96:992, 1999), in short, why DNA barcoding works! It is expected that large data sets generated by DNA barcoding surveys will help refine this analysis and identify possible ecological or biological correlates, providing insight into what drives selective sweeps. I close with a question: if a species is morphologically and ecologically stable, does it nonetheless undergo repeated selective sweeps?
150 My of selective sweeps?
NMNH annual report headlines DNA barcoding
The lead story in the US National Museum of Natural History 2005 Annual Report: New Tools for Understanding Nature, entitled “Barcoding the Planet” highlights the 
museum’s organizational and research involvement in the international scientific effort “to develop a system for rapidly and inexpensively identifying the approximately 1.7 million known flora and fauna species, and creating an electronic database for the estimated 10 million species across the planet”. As outlined by Cristian Samper, Museum Director, “the use of DNA barcoding in identifying and distinguishing species could revolutionize the way we do science”. The article concludes with an observation from Lee Weigt, Manager of the Museum’s Laboratories of Analytical Biology “What the human genome research can do for medicine, DNA barcoding can do for biology”
DNA barcoding identifies mystery hummingbird, points toward wide utility in conservation assessments
An unidentified Selasphorus hummingbird spent fall 2005 and winter 2006 frequenting a hummingbird feeder in London, Ontario. As is often true with female or immature hummingbirds, despite close observation and photographs, 
it was not possible to identify the exact species, in this case whether this was an Allen’s (S. sasin) or Rufous (S. rufus), species native to the western U.S. that normally winter in Mexico. Even in the hand, identification can be difficult and in banding studies most individuals are often simply recorded as “UNHU”, unidentified hummingbird species.
In this case, a single feather 
spotted beneath the feeder was brought to University of Guelph, Ontario. DNA extracted from the feather and analyzed for COI barcode proved a match for S. rufus.
Beyond solving a conundrum for birders, this case points toward a general utility of DNA barcoding in conservation assessments by enabling routine identification of otherwise unidentifiable species, including use of samples from live individuals which may be particularly important in study of threatened or endangered species.
Palearctic birds barcoding workshop held in Netherlands
Researchers met at Naturalis, the Natural History Museum of Leiden, Netherlands, on 20-21 April 2006 to form plans for barcoding Palearctic birds. The meeting was convened by Per Ericson, 
ABBI Palearctic Regional Chair, Swedish Museum of Natural History, hosted by Rene Dekker, Naturalis, and included representatives from Canada, Denmark, England, France, Iran, Italy, Japan, Norway, Portugal, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States. Additional participants in Palearctic ABBI are welcome–please contact Per Ericson per.ericson@nrm.se.
Discussion topics included sampling strategies based on geographical patterns in Palearctic avian diversity, updating the ABBI compilation of existing avian tissue specimens, using ongoing collecting and ringing operations as additional sources for un- or under-sampled species, cost-effectiveness of DNA sequence recovery from museum skins, facilitation of regional network activities with Barcode of Life Database (BOLD), need for email, website, and/or listserve to monitor progress and plan next steps, potential small and large-scale funding sources including possible low or no-cost sequencing at pre-existing genomic centers, and exciting early results with 600+ COI barcodes from eastern Palearctic birds. Based on this workshop, the Palearctic group expects much progress over the coming year.
Barcode Blog
With DNA barcoding for species identification creating excitement and controversy, Mark Stoeckle has launched the “Barcode Blog†to share the community news.
Sometimes taxonomy moves slowly, could use help
In 1998, as part of biodiversity survey to assess the health of New York City’s Central Park, researchers at the American Museum of Natural History collected leaf litter samples. After sorting, the museum sent a collection of Central Park millipedes and centipedes to Richard L. Hoffman, curator for invertebrates at the Virginia 
Museum of Natural History. After study, Dr. Hoffman sent several specimens he could not identify to scientists in Italy. In July 2002, Italian scientists announced the Central Park centipede was a new species, and named it Nannarrup hoffmani in honor of Dr. Hoffman. In October 2003, Foddai, Bonato, Pereira, and Minelli published the species description in Journal of Natural History. As of April 2006, the journal issue containing the description is available to subscribers or by payment per article.
My summary: 1 new species, found across the street from one of the world’s premier natural history research institutions, recognized as a new species 4 years later, published description year 5, awaiting public access year 8. I believe that DNA barcoding can provide taxonomists with scientific tools and help attract funding to accelerate this process.
DNA helps save sharks
Many shark species are threatened by overfishing, including the 
filter-feeding whale shark Rhincodon typus. The Ocean Conservancy reports “many sharks fall victim to finning, the process of slicing off a shark’s fins and tossing it back into the water. Highly prized for use in the delicacy shark fin soup, shark fins support a very lucrative market. Although the U.S. Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 made this practice illegal in all U.S. waters, finning remains legal 
in most parts of the world.” In The USA regulations prohibit possession of any part of protected species, but how to identify dried fins? The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration recently confiscated a ton of dried shark fins and brought charges against dealers based on DNA identification of protected shark species. A DNA barcode library together with rapid, portable methods for sequence analysis will empower enforcement of regulations for many protected species.