High diversity of freshwater invertebrates in the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago as revealed by mitochondrial DNA barcodes
Project Leader: Danielle Nowosad, University of Guelph
Research Summary
Which species of invertebrates live in the lakes, ponds, and rivers in and around Cambridge Bay, Nunavut?
To monitor changes due to climate change, it is essential to establish a baseline list of freshwater invertebrate species currently living in the vicinity of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. Invertebrates such as insects, spiders, worms, crustaceans and shrimp are cold-blooded animals without backbones. Between the summers of 2018 and 2022, the ArcticBIOSCAN team collected water samples from lakes, ponds, creeks, and rivers around Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.
Each invertebrate found in the samples was sent to the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics in Guelph, Ontario, where DNA barcoding was performed. This method matches a standard segment of unknown DNA to an online DNA reference library to identify the species.
Through DNA barcoding, the team identified 467 different species across the sample sites. This exceeded expectations for the diversity of invertebrate life found in Arctic freshwater systems. While more research is needed, statistical analyses indicated that approximately 63% of freshwater invertebrate diversity has been documented to date.
Establishing this baseline genomic list will address key questions about the health of freshwater ecosystems, fluctuations in invertebrate populations over time, the northern spread of new species in response to the warming effects of climate change.
Key Takeaways
- Freshwater is a prominent feature across the western Canadian Arctic Archipelago, supporting fish populations, human communities, and complex environmental processes.
- Invertebrates, such as fly larvae, worms, beetles, and shrimp, are essential to every freshwater system. They break down organic matter, including dead or decaying animals and plants, and serve as an important food for fish.
- The genomic DNA biodiversity of invertebrates in freshwater systems near Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, has been recently established using genetic and molecular biological techniques.
- The Barcode of Life Data System was used to identify baseline invertebrate samples, revealing 467 different species, each assigned a Barcode Index Number.
Read the full research results in Polar Biology.
This project was funded by the Government of Canada, University of Guelph, the Centre for Biodiversity Genomics (Arctic BIOSCAN project), the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and the Arctic Institute of North America.