standardization of environmental data and information - International ...

Once the most useful DNA segment has been identified, single
specimens can be sequenced from small pieces of tissue to avoid
compromising morphological or biological studies of the animals. A costeffective
molecular technique is also proposed to identify nematodes from
bulk ecological samples by extracting DNA from all specimens together,
amplifying a segment of the gene best suited to identifying species and
then separating amplicons by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis
(DGGE). Such methods are directly analogous to those utilised for research
into marine microbiology. This has been revolutionised by the use of
amplification of partial sequences of 16S ribosomal RNA from
microorganisms in environmental samples and separation of amplicons
through cloning or DGGE 24 . This will allow researchers without specialised
taxonomic knowledge to use marine nematodes routinely in ecological and
environmental research, revolutionising benthic ecology. In the long term, it
will be useful to calibrate between known species and their M-OTUs for the
majority of nematode species in taxonomically well-known habitats such as
British estuaries. However, in the deep sea most nematode species will
probably never be classically described and will simply be defined as M-
OTUs.
This project started in June 2001. Tests on bulk ecological
nematode samples from deep-sea areas affected by placement of mining
tailings will take place in late 2002 or early 2003.
SUMMARY OF PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION ON SEAFLOOR
MEIOFAUNA IN POTENTIAL MINING AREAS
Dr. Lambshead, in his oral presentation, began by saying that
“meiofauna” was a largely obsolete word. It had been originally invented as
a size class for convenience; when certain silt or sand was put through a
series of sieves, a more or less arbitrary decision had been made to call
animals of one size macrofauna and those below that size meiofauna.
These terms did not mean much in modern ecology or biodiversity studies
because it could never be said that meiofauna did anything. They were
made up of different taxa that had their own biodiversity and ecological
characteristics. For example, in some ways nematodes were more like
polychaetes than like copepods, the other meiofauna group. For purposes
of monitoring, there were two important groups – nematodes and
copepods. Nematodes were by far the most important simply in terms of
numbers; in the deep sea, they made up 70-90 percent of the metazoan
meiofauna. Other important meiofauna groups, such as flatworms, were
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