How To Conduct A Fish Census From Just A Glass Of Ocean Water
Aquarium fish Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder There are many fish in the sea, as many a jilted lover has been told for non-marine-biological reasons, but what kinds, and how many? To answer those questions to date, scientists have relied on physical counts, often via the catching of said fish. Wouldn't it be nice if you could just take a sample of water and work a little magic to figure out who lived in the area? Researchers have begun to analyze DNA in water samples to find out what fish live nearby. A new study of DNA in a small sample of water from central California's Monterey Bay Aquarium correctly identified most of the fish that live there; it also correctly calculated the relative abundance of sardine, tuna, dolphinfish, and mackerel (based on the relative quantities of genetic material). At first,...