DNA barcoding reveals diversity of Hymenoptera and the dominance of parasitoids in a sub-arctic environment

• Published in: BMC Ecology
• Main Authors: Stahlhut Julie K, Fernández-Triana José, Adamowicz Sarah J, Buck Matthias, Goulet Henri, Hebert Paul DN, Huber John T, Merilo Mark T, Sheffield Cory S, Woodcock Thomas, Smith M Alex
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BMC 2013
• Subjects: Barcoding biotas; Biodiversity; DNA barcoding; Hymenoptera; Sub-Arctic; Parasitoids; Canada; Ecology; QH540-549.5; Arctic; Churchill
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6785-13-2; https://doaj.org/article/673755ccf4794c24b3c25c4d7761cb33

Abstract Background Insect diversity typically declines with increasing latitude, but previous studies have shown conflicting latitude-richness gradients for some hymenopteran parasitoids. However, historical estimates of insect diversity and species richness can be difficult to confirm or compare, because they may be based upon dissimilar methods. As a proxy for species identification, we used DNA barcoding to identify molecular operational taxonomic units (MOTUs) for 7870 Hymenoptera specimens collected near Churchill, Manitoba, from 2004 through 2010. Results We resolved 1630 MOTUs for this collection, of which 75% (1228) were ichneumonoids (Ichneumonidae + Braconidae) and 91% (1484) were parasitoids. We estimate the total number of Hymenoptera MOTUs in this region at 2624-2840. Conclusions The diversity of parasitoids in this sub-Arctic environment implies a high diversity of potential host species throughout the same range. We discuss these results in the contexts of resolving interspecific interactions that may include cryptic species, and developing reproducible methods to estimate and compare species richness across sites and between surveys, especially when morphological specialists are not available to identify every specimen.