title: Application of DNA barcodes in wildlife conservation in Tropical East Asia.
abstract: Over the past 50 years, Tropical East Asia has lost more biodiversity than any tropical region. Tropical East Asia is a megadiverse region with an acute taxonomic impediment. DNA barcodes are short standardized DNA sequences used for taxonomic purposes and have the potential to lessen the challenges of biodiversity inventory and assessments in regions where they are most needed. We reviewed DNA barcoding efforts in Tropical East Asia relative to other tropical regions. We suggest DNA barcodes (or metabarcodes from next-generation sequencers) may be especially useful for characterizing and connecting species-level biodiversity units in inventories encompassing taxa lacking formal description (particularly arthropods) and in large-scale, minimal-impact approaches to vertebrate monitoring and population assessments through secondary sources of DNA (invertebrate derived DNA and environmental DNA). We suggest interest and capacity for DNA barcoding are slowly growing in Tropical East Asia, particularly among the younger generation of researchers who can connect with the barcoding analogy and understand the need for new approaches to the conservation challenges being faced.
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Biodiversity Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. wilso04@gmail.com.|Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. wilso04@gmail.com.
authors.forename: John-James
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Biodiversity Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.|Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Kong-Wah
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Sing
authors.affiliation: Ecology and Biodiversity Program, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.|Museum of Zoology, Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Ping-Shin
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Integrative Conservation, Xisshangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Menglun Township, Mengla County, Yunnan Province, 666303, China.
authors.forename: Alison K S
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Wee
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D001208:Asia; D044822:Biodiversity; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D004247:DNA; D058893:DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic
chemical_list: D004247:DNA
keywords: biodiversity inventory; estimaciones de población; inventario de biodiversidad; population estimates; sistemática; systematics; taxonomy; taxonomía