Barcoding birds: progress towards a global perspective

KERR, KEVIN C. R.; LIJTMAER, DARÍO A.; TUBARO, PABLO L.; BIRKS, SHARON; KALYAKIN, MIKHAIL; DOVE, CARLA J.; HEBERT, PAUL D. N.

Taipei, Taiwán

Congreso; Second International Barcode of Life Conference; 2007

Consortium for the Barcode of Life y Academia Sínica

Avian taxonomy is arguably the most robust of any class of animals; hence, birds offer a unique test for DNA barcoding. A subsample of North American birds was used as an early indicator of the efficacy of barcode-based species delimitation. Promising results aroused interests as well as critical commentaries. An international effort, the All Birds Barcoding Initiative, was established shortly thereafter to co-ordinate efforts to barcode the world’s avifauna. We have expanded the sampling of North American birds creating comprehensive coverage of breeding species. Furthermore, we have generated DNA barcodes for birds of Argentina through collaboration with the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, as well as birds of the eastern Palearctic through collaboration with the Burke Museum and the Zoological Museum of Moscow University. While data collection is ongoing, current progress is propitious. Broadly ranging species are represented from multiple continents. Initial trends in mean intraspecific and interspecific genetic distances vary little between biogeographical realms. While a few sister species with overlapping barcode sequences have emerged, they are mostly limited to North America. Only one sequence is shared between species from different continents. Deep genetic splits within species are often predictable and tend to be limited to shy, nondescript species. These findings address several of the rudimentary criticisms of barcoding.