MIREIA BONICH 1r Batx B (11)

Here’s how to use DNA to find elusive sharks

Summary:

Pulling DNA₁ out of bottles of seawater collected from reefs₂ has revealed some of what biologists are calling the “dark diversity” of sharks. It means species they don’t see in some reef, forest or other habitat, though predictions or older records say the creatures could live there. 

An international team analyzed results of a New Caledonian archipelago from three approaches: sending divers out to count species, baiting cameras and analyzing traces of DNA the animals left in the environment. Environmental DNA revealed six shark species which failed to show up in the other surveys. 

Link:

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/shark-dna-census-oceans?tgt=nr   

Publication date:

7/5/18

Scientific field:

Animals, Genetics

Glossary:

1. DNA: An extremely long macromolecule that is the main component of chromosomes and is the material that transfers genetic characteristics in all life forms
2. Reefs: A ridge of rocks or sand, often of coral debris, at or near the surface of the water. 

Analysis comment:

This article talks about sharks, specifically a new way to detect shark species that live in various places. These species are detected by using seawater bottles from which DNA is extracted. This method requires less harvesting effort and, in addition, more different species of sharks are detected. 

However, these genetic traces do not give information about the number of individuals in an area, so their effectiveness decreases. 

Anyway, I think that discovering this kind of methods allows us to advance a lot in science, as well as having more resources to discover other things. It is always important to have different ways to discover something, in this case, to discover the different types of sharks found in a reef. 

In conclusion, I think that this new method that allows us to place shark breeds in various parts of the world is very interesting, although it is not perfect, it is very useful.