Nature Today | Experts: Come to Barcoding NL

Last year, under the motto “All collectors collect”, we went looking for species experts in the Netherlands. Naturalis wants to be able to identify all Dutch species by their DNA. To be able to do this, you first have to map this DNA: you have to know the so-called barcode. You need copies of it. Preferably some of them are fresh, and preferably several of each species.

There are around 43,000 multicellular species in the Netherlands, so we need help with this. From people who can distinguish between these species and know where to find them. We organised an event at Naturalis called Barcoding NL specifically for this group. Lectures, workshops, networking and free beer: it was a success.

tracking

It’s almost another year now. Over a hundred experts have together contributed around sixty thousand (!) samples to the Dutch National DNA Barcode Library. In this way they have contributed to scientific research and hopefully also to nature conservation in the future. It has also allowed them to answer their own questions about their species. For example, thanks to the barcodes, volunteer Peter van Praagt ​​was able to determine that many of the species he collected were new to the Netherlands, and the sea slug species were almost certainly new to science.

In other words: we will organize such a day again: on Saturday, September 28, at Naturalis. If you are one of these more than a hundred experts and would like to be heard, or if you would like to have your questions answered before contributing, you are most welcome. To report It can be done through this form..

more information

• Important! You need a permit to collect many species in the Netherlands. If it is the species we are looking for, you probably already have one, so don’t break the laws designed to protect the species for us or anyone else.
• The National DNA Barcode Reference Library is part of the larger ARISE project, which aims to identify all Dutch species in all ways. Find out more about how the ARISE collection works It can be found here..
• You can search for the species we are still missing on our website. List of goalsIt also works at the group level (what beetles still need to be added?), but currently only with Latin names (so you have to enter “Coleoptera” instead of “beetles”).

text: Natural Biodiversity Center
Photos: Taco van der Epp; Naturalist