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Meier R, Blaimer BB, Buenaventura E, Hartop E, von Rintelen T, Srivathsan A, Yeo D. A re-analysis of the data in Sharkey et al.'s (2021) minimalist revision reveals that BINs do not deserve names, but BOLD Systems needs a stronger commitment to open science. Cladistics 2021; 38:264-275. [PMID: 34487362 DOI: 10.1111/cla.12489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Halting biodiversity decline is one of the most critical challenges for humanity, but monitoring biodiversity is hampered by taxonomic impediments. One impediment is the large number of undescribed species (here called "dark taxon impediment") whereas another is caused by the large number of superficial species descriptions, that can only be resolved by consulting type specimens ("superficial description impediment"). Recently, Sharkey et al. (2021) proposed to address the dark taxon impediment for Costa Rican braconid wasps by describing 403 species based on COI barcode clusters ("BINs") computed by BOLD Systems. More than 99% of the BINs (387 of 390) were converted into species by assigning binominal names (e.g. BIN "BOLD:ACM9419" becomes Bracon federicomatarritai) and adding a minimal diagnosis (consisting only of a consensus barcode for most species). We here show that many of Sharkey et al.'s species are unstable when the underlying data are analyzed using different species delimitation algorithms. Add the insufficiently informative diagnoses, and many of these species will become the next "superficial description impediment" for braconid taxonomy because they will have to be tested and redescribed after obtaining sufficient evidence for confidently delimiting species. We furthermore show that Sharkey et al.'s approach of using consensus barcodes as diagnoses is not functional because it cannot be applied consistently. Lastly, we reiterate that COI alone is not suitable for delimiting and describing species, and voice concerns over Sharkey et al.'s uncritical use of BINs because they are calculated by a proprietary algorithm (RESL) that uses a mixture of public and private data. We urge authors, reviewers and editors to maintain high standards in taxonomy by only publishing new species that are rigorously delimited with open-access tools and supported by publicly available evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rudolf Meier
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore.,Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Bonnie B Blaimer
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Eliana Buenaventura
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Emily Hartop
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Thomas von Rintelen
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Center for Integrative Biodiversity Discovery, Invalidenstraße 43, Berlin, 10115, Germany
| | - Amrita Srivathsan
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore
| | - Darren Yeo
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117558, Singapore
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Stireman JO, Cerretti P, O’hara JE, Moulton JK. Extraordinary diversification of the “bristle flies” (Diptera: Tachinidae) and its underlying causes. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The family Tachinidae (“bristle flies”) is the most diverse and ecologically important group of insect parasitoids outside the parasitic wasps. It is among the most species rich families of flies (Diptera) and has experienced a recent adaptive radiation across the globe. We make use of a molecular phylogeny of the family to examine its rapid radiation and explore the traits of tachinid lineages that may have contributed to variation in their diversification. We apply a range of diversification analyses to assess the consistency and robustness of effects. We find that the Tachinidae are among the most rapidly diversifying families of animals. Six to eight clades of bristle flies, distributed across the phylogeny, exhibit strong evidence of accelerated diversification. Our results suggest that the use of holometabolous insect larvae, and specifically caterpillars (Lepidoptera), as hosts, is associated with increased diversification rates. However, these effects were inconsistent across analyses. We detected little influence of oviposition strategy (egg type) or host feeding habit, and we recovered evidence that unmeasured “hidden” traits may explain greater variance in diversification. We evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of different Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian approaches for analysing diversification and the potential for extrinsic factors, such as geography, to influence patterns of richness and diversification. In general, we conclude that although certain traits may provide opportunities for diversification, whether this is capitalized on may depend on additional traits and/or historical contingency.
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Affiliation(s)
- John O Stireman
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
| | - Pierfilippo Cerretti
- Dipartimento di Biologia e Biotecnologie ‘Charles Darwin’, ‘Sapienza’ Università di Roma, Piazzale A. Moro 5, Rome, Italy
- Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO National Facilities and Collections, Black Mountain, Canberra, Australia
| | - James E O’hara
- Canadian National Collection of Insects, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - John K Moulton
- Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
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Fleming AJ, Wood DM, Smith MA, Dapkey T, Hallwachs W, Janzen D. A new genus and new species in the tribe Uramyini (Diptera: Tachinidae) from Area de Conservación Guanacaste in northwestern Costa Rica. Biodivers Data J 2020; 8:e48907. [PMID: 32148433 PMCID: PMC7048859 DOI: 10.3897/bdj.8.e48907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2019] [Accepted: 02/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background We describe one new genus and its one new species from Area de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) in northwestern Costa Rica. Our study provides a concise description of this new species using morphology, life history, molecular data and photographic documentation. New information Chorotegamyiagen. n. is described, along with its type species, Chorotegamyiaaureofaciessp. n. A modified key to the Uramyini is given to further elucidate the tribe.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Fleming
- Agriculture Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada Agriculture Agri-Food Canada Ottawa Canada
| | - D Monty Wood
- Agriculture Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, Canada Agriculture Agri-Food Canada Ottawa Canada
| | - M Alex Smith
- University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada University of Guelph Guelph Canada
| | - Tanya Dapkey
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia United States of America
| | - Winnie Hallwachs
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia United States of America
| | - Daniel Janzen
- University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States of America University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia United States of America
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