DNA Barcoding of Copepods

Copepods are the most studied zooplankton focussing on diversity, morphology, taxonomy, phylogeny, distribution, life-cycle strategies, feeding behaviour and adaptation to various environmental conditions (Bradford-Grieve et al. 2010; Blanco-Bercial et al. 2011; Saiz and Calbet 2011). They are the most diverse taxon which extend over vast geographic ranges and are planktonic almost throughout their life cycle. Precise identification is based on our knowledge of morphological traits found among copepods. The common occurrence of spectacular ontogenetic changes and also higher levels of morphological plasticity persisted among copepods have remained a challenge for the species identification that can be readily addressed through the molecular level (McManus and Katz 2009). More recently, biodiversity assessments have been increasingly concentrated on molecular-based genetic methods (Bucklin et al. 2010a; Grant et al. 2011). The molecular taxonomical analysis has heralded a new era in solving the confusion caused by cryptic species (Goetze 2003, 2010; Miyamoto et al. 2010).