1. Barcoding the largest animals on Earth: ongoing challenges and molecular solutions in the taxonomic identification of ancient cetaceans
- Author
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Barbara Wilkens, Luke Spindler, Krista McGrath, Keri Rowsell, Michael Hofreiter, Ana S. L. Rodrigues, Matthew J. Collins, Anne Charpentier, Youri van den Hurk, Camilla Speller, Armelle Gardeisen, Departments of Archaeology [York] (BioArch), University of York [York, UK], Institute of Biochemistry and Biology University of Potsdam, Institute of archaeology (UCL), University College of London [London] (UCL), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3), Archéologie des Sociétés Méditerranéennes (ASM), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UM3)-Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication (MCC), Dipartimento di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, University of Sassari, Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ministère de la Culture (MC), Università degli Studi di Sassari = University of Sassari [Sassari] (UNISS), Archaeology of Northwestern Europe, Hofreiter, Michael [0000-0003-0441-4705], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-École pratique des hautes études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), and Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,[SHS.ARCHEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Archaeology and Prehistory ,Biome ,species identification ,species ,Review Article ,[SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity ,Biology ,DNA barcoding ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry ,spectrometry ,cetaceans ,03 medical and health sciences ,Abundance (ecology) ,biology.animal ,Animals ,DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic ,14. Life underwater ,Baseline (configuration management) ,ancient DNA ,Zooarchaeology ,Institut für Biochemie und Biologie ,zooarchaeology by mass ,Whale ,Ecology ,High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing ,Articles ,Biodiversity ,Classification ,collagen peptide mass fingerprinting ,[SDV.GEN.GA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Genetics/Animal genetics ,030104 developmental biology ,Ancient DNA ,Archaeology ,13. Climate action ,archaeozoology ,identification ,Identification (biology) ,Cetacea ,Collagen ,North Sea ,General Agricultural and Biological Sciences - Abstract
International audience; One contribution of 16 to a theme issue 'From DNA barcodes to biomes'. Over the last few centuries, many cetacean species have witnessed dramatic global declines due to industrial overharvesting and other anthropogenic influences, and thus are key targets for conservation. Whale bones recovered from archaeological and palaeontological contexts can provide essential baseline information on the past geographical distribution and abundance of species required for developing informed conservation policies. Here we review the challenges with identifying whale bones through traditional anatomical methods, as well as the opportunities provided by new molecular analyses. Through a case study focused on the North Sea, we demonstrate how the utility of this (pre)historic data is currently limited by a lack of accurate taxonomic information for the majority of ancient cetacean remains. We then discuss current opportunities presented by molecular identification methods such as DNA barcoding and collagen peptide mass fingerprinting (zooarchaeology by mass spectrometry), and highlight the importance of molecular identifications in assessing ancient species' distributions through a case study focused on the Mediterranean. We conclude by considering high-throughput molecular approaches such as hybridization capture followed by next-generation sequencing as cost-effective approaches for enhancing the ecological informativeness of these ancient sample sets. This article is part of the themed issue 'From DNA barcodes to biomes'.
- Published
- 2016
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