Jeremy deWaard

Not long after the milestone of 1 million barcodes was reached in time for the official launch of the International Barcode of Life Project, our original barcoding paper has now reached 1000 citations according to ISI Web of Knowledge.

Our article describing a preliminary inventory of native and exotic Lepidoptera in Vancouver’s Stanley Park (deWaard et al 2009) was discussed by two federal government periodicals.  The first is following an interview I did with Monique Keiran of the Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, and is found in ‘Information Forestry’, a periodical that covers research at the Pacific Forestry Centre [pdf, pp. 8-9].

The second is a Canadian Food Inspection Agency publication called ‘Science Scan’ that discusses research articles concerning animal and plant health, particularly those that pertain to emerging pests and pathogens [pdf, pp. 4-5].

The Smithsonian/NMNH Department of Entomology puts out a short newsletter describing, among other things, the projects of visiting researchers.  Stephanie Kirk and I are featured in the Winter 2010 edition detailing our September 2009 to January 2010 projects [pdf].

Our original barcoding paper is now the 6th most cited paper ever for Proceedings B.  Surprisingly, it’s cited more than Gould and Lewontin’s classic 1979 paper on the ‘Spandrels of San Marco’. Our 2nd barcoding paper is 47th, and they’re the two most recent in the top 50 list.

Floyd, R., Lima, J., deWaard, J.R., Humble, L.R. and Hanner, R.H.  (2010). Common goals: incorporating DNA barcoding into international protocols for identification of arthropod pests. Biological Invasions. In press. [full text pdf] [website].

Abstract: The globalization of commerce carries with it significant biological risks concerning the spread of harmful organisms. International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 27, ‘‘Diagnostic Protocols for Regulated Pests’’, sets out the standards governing protocols for the detection and identification of plant pest species. We argue that DNA barcoding—the use of short, standardized DNA sequences for species identification—is a methodology which should be incorporated into standard diagnostic protocols, as it holds great promise for the rapid identification of species of economic importance, notably arthropods. With a well-defined set of techniques and rigorous standards of data quality and transparency, DNA barcoding already meets or exceeds the minimum standards required for diagnostic protocols under ISPM No. 27. We illustrate the relevance of DNA barcoding to phytosanitary concerns and advocate the development of policy at the national and international levels to expand the scope of barcode coverage for arthropods globally.

Our recent paper in Biology Letters was discussed over the holidays in Mark Stoeckle’s Barcode of Life Blog.  Check out his post here.

Our recently published study on moth diversity in Stanley Park was featured in the Vancouver Sun today.  Thanks to Larry Pynn for the comprehensive write-up.

Read it here:

New and unwanted aliens among Stanley Park’s diversity of moths

Or download the scanned version: front page blurb and article

Hebert, P.D.N., deWaard, J.R., and Landry, J.-F. DNA barcodes for 1/1000 of the Animal Kingdom. Biology Letters 6: 359-362 [abstract pdf] [full text pdf] [website]

Abstract: This study reports DNA barcodes for more than 1300 Lepidoptera species from the eastern half of North America, establishing that 99.5% of these species possess diagnostic barcode sequences. Intraspecific divergences averaged just 0.43% among this assemblage, but most values were lower. The mean was elevated by deep barcode divergences (>2%) in nearly 5% of the species, often involving the sympatric occurrence of two barcode clusters. A few of these cases have been analyzed in detail, revealing species overlooked by the current taxonomic system. This study also provided a large-scale test of the extent of regional divergence in barcode sequences, indicating that geographic differentiation is small, even when comparisons involve populations as much as 2800 km apart. The present results affirm that a highly effective system for the identification of Lepidoptera can be built with few records per species because of the limited intra-specific variation. As most terrestrial and marine taxa possess patterns of population structure similar to those in Lepidoptera, an effective DNA-based identification system can be developed with modest effort.

Leland Humble and I delivered a presentation in Mexico City this past week.  The pdf and link to the video are below.

deWaard, J.R. and Humble, L.M. “Forest Biomonitoring, biosecurity and DNA barcoding”. 3rd International Conference for the Barcoding of Life. Mexico City, Mexico. Nov 12, 2009 (J.R.D. oral presentation) [pdf] [video]