48 Hidden Species May be Surprisingly Commo

 

"Hidden Species May be Surprisingly Common

“隐藏的物种可能是令人惊讶的共同

Cryptic species - animals that appear identical but are genetically quite distant - may be much more widespread than previously thought. The findings could have major implications in areas ranging from biodiversity estimates and wildlife management, to our understanding of infectious diseases and evolution.

神秘的物种-动物出现相同但基因相当遥远的-可能是更广泛的比以前认为。研究结果可能产生重大影响的领域从生物多样性和野生动物管理，我们的理解传染病和演化。

Reports of crytic species have increased dramatically over the past two decades with the advent of relatively inexpensive DNA sequencing technology. Markus Pfenninger and Klaus schwenk, of the goethe-universitat in Frankfurt, Germany, analyzzed all known data on cryptic animal species and discovered that they are found in equal proportions throughout all major branches of the animal kingdom and occur in equal numbers in all biogeographical regions.

报告中隐含的物种急剧增加，在过去二十年里，出现相对廉价的测序技术。马库斯pfenninger和克劳斯的goethe-universitat施文克，法兰克福，德国，analyzzed所有已知数据的神秘动物物种和发现，他们发现在同等比例在所有主要部门的动物王国和发生在人数相等的所有生物地理区域的。

Scientists had previously speculated that cryptic species were predominantly found in insects and reptiles, and were more likely to occur in tropical rather than temperate regions. "Species that are seemingly widespread and abundant could in reality be many different cryptic species that have low populations and are highly endangered," says Pfenninger. Until the genetic ninformation of all species in at least one taxon is thoroughly studied, no one will know just many cryptic species exist. "It could be as high as 30%," Pfenninger says.

以前科学家们推测，神秘的物种，主要是发现在昆虫和爬行动物，并更有可能发生在热带比温带地区。”似乎有广泛和丰富的物种，可能在现实生活中是许多不同的神秘的物种，有低人口和高度濒危，说：”pfenninger。直到遗传ninformation的所有物种中的至少一个分类单元进行了深入的研究，没有人会知道很多神秘的物种存在。”它可以高达30%，“pfenninger说。

"I'm extremely surprised by their results," says Alex Smith of teh University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. "It's a call to arms to keep dong teh broad kind of genetic studies that we are doing."

“我很惊讶他们的结果，说：”亚历克斯·德安大略圭尔夫大学，加拿大。”这是一个战斗的召唤让董被广泛的遗传研究，我们正在做的。”

Sampling as many individuals as possible, scientists hope to complete work on all fish and birds in another 5 to 10 years. Once either or these taxonomic groups is completed, Pfenninger says researchers will be able to decide how many cryptic species exist throughout the animal kingdom.

抽样许多个人尽可能，科学家希望完成的工作的所有鱼类和鸟类在另一个5到10年。一旦一方或这些生物分类群体完成，pfenninger说，研究人员将能够决定如何许多神秘的物种的存在，在整个动物王国。

Examples of cryptic species include the African elephant. A 2001 study found teh elephants were actually two genetically distinct, non-interbreeding species, the African bush elephant and the African elephant. The species are currently listed as vulnerable and threatened, respectively, by the World Conservation Union (WCU).

例子，神秘的物种包括非洲象。2001研究发现，大象实际上是2基因不同，non-interbreeding物种，非洲丛林象和非洲象。该物种目前列为易受伤害和威胁，分别，被世界自然保护联盟（钨铜）。

The reclassifications are more than an academic exercise. They define populations that have evolved independently of each other and whose genetic differences can have significant consequences.

这不仅仅是一个学术活动概。他们确定的人口，形成相互独立的遗传差异可能有重大的后果。

In the early 1900s misidentification of mosquito species based on morphology confused attempts to control malaria in Europe. Ultimately, what was thought to be a single species was actually made up of six sibling species, only three of which transmitted the disease. " The basic unit in biology is always the species, and you have to know what you are dealing with," Pfenninger says. Much previous research is now no longer used, he says, because it is not clear what species was being studied.

在本世纪初，误认的蚊虫种类的基础上形态混淆试图控制疟疾在欧洲。最终，什么被认为是一个单一的物种实际上是由六个兄弟姐妹物种，其中只有三种传播疾病。”在生物学的基本单位是永远的物种，你要知道你正在处理，pfenninger说”。以前的研究已经不再使用，他说，因为不清楚是什么在被研究的物种。