Research Training Program
Smithsonian
Institution
National Museum of Natural History
PROJECT SUMMARY
2007
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Laura
Florez Ted Schultz,
Ph.D. "Finding an answer is finding a piece of the puzzle. Knowing where to place it and recognizing which are the next pieces you must search for is what makes our effort truly valuable." |
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Looking Past Appearances, can we tell Ants Apart? Ants
are one of the most prominent groups of animals on Earth, and
have a complex and fascinating social structure (caste system
and organized labor). Their presence can alter their environment
in many important ways, making them an ecologically significant
subject for research. Pheidole is one of the largest
genera of ants in terms of species number and biomass. It is
a cosmopolitan genus, found in a broad range of locations in
the New and Old World. Historically, species identification
has been based on physical characteristics of specimens (morphology).
However, there is an upcoming need to accelerate species identification
procedures. How can we know what's in our rainforests before
we run out of time and the rainforests are gone? How can we
quickly tell a farmer what's attacking his crops? DNA Barcoding
may play a significant role in answering these, and many other
questions. With just a small amount of genetic material, we
can potentially identify biological organisms in a rapid and
efficient manner. In 2002, researchers from the Smithsonian
Institution Ant Lab conducted a survey of leaf-litter ants from
Guyana and recognized ants based on how they look (morphology).
DNA Barcoding was used to identify Pheidole specimens
and then compared to the species previously identified using
morphology. This project tests the validity of DNA barcoding
as a species identification method and as a complementary tool
for morphological, ecological and taxonomic analyses. There
is still a lot of work to be done in order to come to a definite
conclusion about new species and the relationships within Pheidole.
Further molecular studies and integration with non-molecular
approaches will continue to help us understand these and many
other extraordinary organisms, and hopefully provide a rapid
and accurate way to identify our biological diversity. This research was supported by the Bill and Jean Lane Internship Endowment. |