DNA Barcoding in the Marine Habitat: An Overview
Major part of our planet includes the marine habitat which faces severe threat due to overexploitation of its bio resources. Assessment of biodiversity in the massive and diverse marine ecosystem is a challenging task. In this introductory chapter, we giv
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Abstract Major part of our planet includes the marine habitat which faces severe threat due to overexploitation of its bio resources. Assessment of biodiversity in the massive and diverse marine ecosystem is a challenging task. In this introductory chapter, we give a brief description of the marine habitat and types of marine organisms, followed by the concept of DNA barcoding. We also describe the applications and different initiatives of DNA barcoding in the marine ecosystem. A brief account of DNA barcoding in marine fungi, different groups of animals and plants is also elucidated. This chapter gives a bird’s eye view on the DNA barcoding in the marine perspective. Keywords DNA barcoding
Marine COI Biodiversity Conservation
1 An Introduction to the Marine Environment The marine water covers about 72 % of our earth surface and the oceans contain about 97 % of the water that is present in the earth. The five world oceans in order of size are as follows: Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean and Southern Ocean. The largest ocean is the Pacific Ocean which covers about one-third of the total area of our planet. The deepest trench-Mariana Trench S. Trivedi (&) H. Rehman S. Saggu C. Panneerselvam Z.K. Abbas A.A. Ansari Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Saudi Arabia e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] I. Ahmad Center for Environmental and Marine Studies, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal S.K. Ghosh Department of Biotechnology, Assam University, Silchar 788011, Assam, India © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 S. Trivedi et al. (eds.), DNA Barcoding in Marine Perspectives, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41840-7_1
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(10,800 m) is also located in the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean covers about one-sixth area of the earth is the second largest ocean but has the longest coastline. In the year 2000, the International Hydrological Organization delineated a new ocean called Southern Ocean surrounding the Antarctica and extending up to 60° S. The ocean currents which are regular movement of water from one part of ocean to another have profound influence on the distribution and abundance of marine organisms and particularly the phytoplanktons and zooplanktons. For example, the confluence of cold Oyashio Current with the warm Curoshio Current off the Japan coast results in huge number of planktons which in turn makes it an ideal fishing ground. The alternate rise and fall of ocean surface water or the tides also play a vital role in the coastal regions like the mangrove ecosystems. Besides the oceans, the marine ecosystem also contains seas, bays, lagoons, salt marshes, estuaries, coral reefs, kelp forests, etc. The dynamic and massive marine environment is facing severe anthropogenic threat which is severely affecting the marine biotic community which is in turn affecting the health of our planet as a whole. Some of the threats include overfishing, pollution, global warming, rising sea
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