Species identification of copepods in lake sediments is often difficult because their remains lack diagnostic features. It is therefore not easy to track changes in copepod biodiversity in lakes through time. We report a method for the isolation, amplification, and identification of copepod DNA from whole lake sediments formed in the early Holocene to the present. The method, which involves amplification of a short (~300 base pair) DNA sequence that varies between copepod species, provides a new approach to the study of copepod paleobiodiversity. Successful amplification of copepod DNA was possible in samples as old as 9950 calibrated 14C y BP. Attempts failed to recover DNA from a sediment sample ca 65,000 years old. In most cases the species identified in the sediments matched those of extant lake populations, but analysis of early-mid Holocene sediments from one lake revealed a species that is not present today. We were able to recover copepod DNA from core samples stored at -20° C, at 4° C, and preserved with polyethyleneglycol. © 2005, by the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Inc.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Evolutionary biology
Research Field:	Biogeography and phylogeography
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Objective Field:	Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
UTAS Author:	Bissett, AP (Mr Andrew Bissett)
UTAS Author:	Gibson, JAE (Dr John Gibson)
UTAS Author:	Swadling, KM (Associate Professor Kerrie Swadling)
UTAS Author:	Newman, L (Dr Louise Newman)
ID Code:	38860
Year Published:	2005
Funding Support:	Australian Research Council (DP0342815)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	43
Deposited By:	IASOS
Deposited On:	2005-08-01
Last Modified:	2012-03-05
Downloads:	0