Giving Compass' Take:

· Ann Bucklin, a professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut, discusses her research focusing on DNA sequencing and marine zooplankton, and what it is revealing about the health of the ocean.

· What do ocean species tell us about the health of the ocean? What role do zooplankton species play in the ocean ecosystem? How is DNA sequencing used?

· Learn how DNA sequencing is advancing medical research and life sciences.

Marine zooplankton are tiny animals, roughly the size of insects you might see on a summer day, that drift with ocean currents. Many of them are lovely, but except for scientists who study them, few people are aware that they are among the most numerous – and important – animals on Earth.

My research focuses on marine zooplankton, which I think of as “charismatic microfauna.” These minute organisms are key players in open ocean food webs and are critical as they are the preferred food for many fish. Many species are thought to be found throughout the global ocean.

More than 7,000 species of zooplankton have been described, but we do not know how many total species exist. Since they are important food sources for larger fish, and respond rapidly to environmental shifts and climate change, knowing more about zooplankton is key to understanding the health of ocean ecosystems.

My laboratory has gained new insights into zooplankton diversity using inexpensive and easy-to-use DNA sequencing. These approaches are providing new tools to identify species. According to some estimates, there could be as many as 70,

Read the full article about DNA sequencing by Ann Bucklin at News Deeply.