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Cryptic species identification: a simple diagnostic tool for discriminating between two problematic bumblebee species

Cryptic species identification: a simple diagnostic tool for discriminating between two problematic bumblebee species
Cryptic species identification: a simple diagnostic tool for discriminating between two problematic bumblebee species
Distinguishing between cryptic species is a perennial problem for biologists. Bombus ruderatus and Bombus hortorum are two species of bumblebee, which can be indistinguishable from their morphology. The former species is in decline, whereas the latter is ubiquitous. In the UK, isolated records of B. ruderatus occur amongst many for B. hortorum. For ecological studies of B. ruderatus to be feasible, the two species need to be reliably distinguishable. We present a diagnostic tool for quick and reliable identification of problematic individuals based on a restriction enzyme digest of the cytochrome b region of mitochondrial DNA.
bombus, conservation, cryptic species, mtDNA, restriction enzyme
1471-8278
540-542
Ellis, J.S.
0c753fa4-bc41-4270-a80c-eb0c8d22d5a9
Knight, M.E.
8fc4d7ce-da18-4d05-a392-995da9d1f6de
Carvell, C.
32b615c2-ef28-4745-9f6f-252f3b962540
Goulson, D.
edf7f1d7-7e58-40c3-88e8-81a43ca89efd
Ellis, J.S.
0c753fa4-bc41-4270-a80c-eb0c8d22d5a9
Knight, M.E.
8fc4d7ce-da18-4d05-a392-995da9d1f6de
Carvell, C.
32b615c2-ef28-4745-9f6f-252f3b962540
Goulson, D.
edf7f1d7-7e58-40c3-88e8-81a43ca89efd

Ellis, J.S., Knight, M.E., Carvell, C. and Goulson, D. (2006) Cryptic species identification: a simple diagnostic tool for discriminating between two problematic bumblebee species. Molecular Ecology Notes, 6 (2), 540-542. (doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2006.01231.x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Distinguishing between cryptic species is a perennial problem for biologists. Bombus ruderatus and Bombus hortorum are two species of bumblebee, which can be indistinguishable from their morphology. The former species is in decline, whereas the latter is ubiquitous. In the UK, isolated records of B. ruderatus occur amongst many for B. hortorum. For ecological studies of B. ruderatus to be feasible, the two species need to be reliably distinguishable. We present a diagnostic tool for quick and reliable identification of problematic individuals based on a restriction enzyme digest of the cytochrome b region of mitochondrial DNA.

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More information

Submitted date: 28 September 2005
Published date: June 2006
Keywords: bombus, conservation, cryptic species, mtDNA, restriction enzyme

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 55769
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/55769
ISSN: 1471-8278
PURE UUID: a88daf8c-24b2-4844-a87e-589ca9b127f8

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Date deposited: 05 Aug 2008
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 10:57

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Contributors

Author: J.S. Ellis
Author: M.E. Knight
Author: C. Carvell
Author: D. Goulson

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