New rules for algae species classification

Date:
September 14, 2020
Source:
Florida State University
Summary:
A team of evolutionary biologists and ecologists has a new idea
for how scientists should classify algae species.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
FSU Assistant Professor of Biological Science Sophie McCoy and her team
are proposing formal definitions for algae species and subcategories
for the research community to consider: They are recommending algae be classified first by DNA and then by other traits.


==========================================================================
The work, which includes collaborations with Stacy Krueger-Hadfield,
assistant professor of biology at the University of Alabama at
Birmingham, and Nova Mieszkowska, a research fellow at the Marine
Biological Association in the United Kingdom, was published this week
in the Journal of Phycology .

"Algal species should evolve separately from other lineages, so that's
DNA- based, but we should also take into account differences in their
ecology, such as what they look like or their role in the environment,"
McCoy said.

The article was published as a perspective rather than offering definitive answers, and the team hopes the larger scientific community will comment
on it and start an important conversation.

Algae matter more than most people realize because the organisms make
about half of the oxygen in the world, McCoy said. Humanity depends on
algae, as does the entire food web of the ocean.

Scientists have established ways to define animal species, such as
determining an organism's ability to produce viable offspring that can subsequently reproduce. For instance, a horse and a donkey can create
a mule, but a mule cannot reproduce. That helps classify horses and
donkeys as separate species.

But that type of categorization doesn't work well for algae because it
has unique and complex life stages and very often interbreeds with other
algal species.



========================================================================== "Rather than having a 'species tree,' like a family tree, algae have
more of a web," McCoy said.

That intricacy has made it difficult to formalize categories to classify
algae species. Some scientists might classify offspring of two algal
species as a distinct new species while others would not. Or some might classify algae species by discrete DNA while others classify by physical characteristics.

"We aren't all using the same rules, so are we actually looking at
different breeds or populations and then artificially calling them
species?" McCoy said.

"Depending on how we apply these rules, the number of species could go way
up or way down." The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red
List of Threatened Species is the world's most comprehensive inventory of
the global conservation status of biological species. The IUCN red list
helps scientists evaluate a species' extinction risk. So, how a species is defined changes the perception of biodiversity and conservation, she said.

Beyond conservation, catastrophes -- from algal blooms in waterways
to the destruction of coral reefs -- could be mitigated by discussing
and clarifying algal species classification. McCoy said some of the
mysteries surrounding this type of growth are likely related to a lack
of uniform identification.

"If we are mistakenly separating or grouping species, we're just not
going to understand how different types of algae are responding to
pollution or climate change," she said.

This philosophical change in what it means to be a species is a starting
point for McCoy and the team. In addition to starting a conversation, she
plans to conduct research that builds on the concept over the next year.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Florida_State_University. Original
written by Tom Morgan.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Sophie J. McCoy, Stacy A. Krueger‐Hadfield, Nova Mieszkowska.

Evolutionary phycology: Towards a macroalgal species conceptual
framework. Journal of Phycology, 2020; DOI: 10.1111/jpy.13059 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200914165541.htm

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