Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding :: Press Release

On February 19th, 2007, two papers on DNA barcoding birds and bats were published in the journal Molecular Ecology Notes. These papers describe recent work done on species of North American birds and Guyanese bats using the DNA barcoding technique to explore existing taxonomy. These studies revealed a number of interesting results, including the discovery of previously unkown species which has implications on our assessment of biodiversity. This page serves as a resource for journalists.

For the in-depth press release, please download the following document:

Birds, Bats and DNA Barcodes: Extensive New Studies Reveal Many "Overlooked" Species (PDF)

The original scientific papers published online on February 19th in Molecular Ecology Notes may be accessed here:

DNA barcoding of Neotropical bats: species identification and discovery within Guyana (PDF)

Comprehensive DNA barcode coverage of North American birds (PDF)

For more information on DNA barcoding, please read the following:

Ten Reasons for DNA Barcoding (PDF)

Additional background information may be found at:

All Birds Barcoding Initiative (Website)

Barcode of Life Data System (Website)

Barcoding Blog (Website)

Canadian Centre for DNA Barcoding (Website)

Canadian Barcode of Life Network (Website)

Consortium for the Barcode of Life (Website)

The following images are available for use. Click the thumbnails to access high resolution versions. Please include proper citations.

Bats

Trachops cirrhosus	Platyrrhinus helleri
Phylloderma stenops	Myotis riparius
Noctilio albiventris	Carollia brevicauda

Photo credits:

Noctilio albiventris: Ivan Kuzman.
Trachops cirrhosus; Platyrrhinus helleri; Phylloderma stenops; Myotis riparius; Carollia brevicauda: Alex Borisenko, Biodiversity Institute of Ontario / Royal Ontario Museum

Birds

For the following images, a higher-resolution watermarked version may be viewed by clicking the appropriate thumbnail image. High resolution, non-watermarked images can be obtained from the Philidelphia Academy of Science. For further details on obtaining these images, contact VIREO at vireo@ansp.org, or call Doug Wechsler (215) 299-1069.

"Overlooked Species" DNA barcoding revealed genetically divergent lineages in these birds, signalling the probable presence of different species.

Northern Fulmar	Solitary Sandpiper
Western Screech-Owl	Warbling Vireo
Western Scrub-Jay	Mexican Jay
Raven	Mountain Chickadee
Bushtit	Winter Wren
Bewick's Wren	Marsh Wren
Hermit Thrush	Curve-billed Thrasher
Eastern Meadowlark

"DNA Twins" DNA barcodes showed these birds are indistinguishable from another species, indicating they are possibly part of the same species, or are very young species.

Ross's Goose with Snow Geese	King Eider with flock of Common Eiders
Glaucous Gull with Herring Gulls

Other Images

The following images illustrate aspects of DNA barcoding. Credit should be given to the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario.

Heron with Illustrative Barcode	DNA Barcoding: Analytical Chain
DNA Barcoder: Field Guide for the New Millenium