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Abstract ALL BOCAS BARCODING ALLIANCE, PART 1: DNA BARCODING OF THE MARINE ORGANISMS OF BOCAS DEL TORO, PANAMA Rachel Collin1, Lee Weigt2 Amy Driskell2, R. Rocha3,
Maria P. Miglietta1, and Robert W. Thacker4. The collection, vouchering and DNA barcoding of sponges, hydroids
and tunicates launched the All Bocas Barcoding Alliance's (ABBA)
effort to exhaustively barcode the fauna and flora of Bocas del
Toro, Panama. The first phase of this project is focused on the
marine organisms. This joint Smithsonian project between the Natural
History Museum's Laboratory of Analytical Biology (LAB) and the
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Bocas Research Station
aims to create a database of DNA barcodes for over 90% of the macroscopic
marine fauna of Bocas del Toro by 2010 and macroscopic marine flora
by 2011. During 2006, experts collected and identified 100 known
species of sponges, 60 tunicates and 60 hydroids with a total of
1,500 tissue samples. This accounts for a total of 66%, 84% and
90% of the species officially reported for these taxa in Bocas del
Toro. A Qiagen BioSprint magnetic bead extractor was used to extract
the DNA on-site and COI sequences were generated from these extractions
at the LAB in Washington DC. This experience provided proof of concept
for rapidly and efficiently generating high quality DNA extractions
for DNA barcoding from taxa as they are identified by experts at
the point of collection. Efforts are underway to obtain funding
to census and barcode the marine algae and microscopic fauna. TRAINING IN TROPICAL TAXONOMY: EFFECTIVE TRAINING FOR NEW INVESTIGATORS IN THE FIELD AND LAB Robert W. Thacker1, Rachel Collin2, Maria C. Diaz3,
G. Lambert4, R. Rocha5 The mission of the Training in Tropical Taxonomy program at the
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute's Bocas Research Station
is to provide training and support for the development of taxonomic
expertise throughout the Americas and the Caribbean. The primary
vehicle for this training is a series of graduate-level short-courses,
each focused on a different group of animals and including introductions
to state-of-the-art approaches to systematics. In July 2006, 13
students representing 9 countries participated in a 10-day course
on the taxonomy and ecology of Caribbean sponges and in August 2006
15 students representing 7 countries participated in a 2-week course
on the taxonomy of ascidians. Both courses worked synergistically
with the Smithsonian Institution's DNA Barcode initiative. Lecture
material included discussions of the current taxonomy of marine
sponges and tunicates, an overview of the morphological characters
that differentiate families, recent developments of cytological
characters, and applications of molecular systematics to questions
in taxonomy. Field surveys of mangrove and reef communities allowed
students to gain experience with field identification and with several
survey techniques. During the class instructors and students collected
multiple samples of 100 sponge species and 50 tunicate species with
the goal of providing proof of concept for rapidly and efficiently
generating high quality DNA extractions for DNA barcoding as samples
are identified by experts at the point of collection.
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