New Species of Freshwater Fish Discovered in Idaho and Montana

It is rare to find new fresh water species of fish in the United States. It is even rarer to find new species in the mountain streams of Idaho and Montana. Biologists from the U.S. Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station came up with an interesting discovery when completing a genuine inventory.

The species they found is now called the cedar sculpin after similar species. At first they were unaware that they have discovered something new. Through genetic coding they were able to determine that these fish were previously unlisted and not seen before. 

Because of their small size of a few inches they are important fish for other larger species. In the food chain the smaller fish help maintain larger fish within the ecosystem. For example the cedar sculpin eat insects and are in turn eaten by bass. We of course like to eat the bass. 

The find helps us think about how even new things can be found right under our noses. We only need to look a little closer to see what others have not yet discovered. North America still holds some interesting gems and perhaps further research may determine better uses of this species. 

Journal Article

Checking Out with DNA Barcodes

Looks are deceiving among gulls. Young ring-billed gulls have brown spots and can look different than adult gulls. Coding helps to determine if they are the same or different species to avoid mislabeling.Info

DNA mapping of species is becoming a popular practice due to its accuracy. Researchers have difficulty seeing small differences among species that are similar and have moved to mapping chloroplast DNA. (1). The concept has been called DNA barcoding because each species comes with a unique map that helps to denote their origins. 

Researchers believe that the DNA bar coding trend will likely help understand marine species and development (2). Sometimes sea life is hard to discern from each other. At other times, species found on the coast are decomposed and difficult to identify. By testing their DNA they are able to find out what they are, where they came from, and the school that is in the area. 

Bird mapping is already in process. Most bird species diverge by 9.54 % on average and inter-species are different by around .29 % making them discernible from each other (3). Gulls seem to mix up their DNA and are more difficult to measure. It is likely that birds will be the first group to be fully mapped. 

The advantages of DNA mapping are great. Many of us assume that most of the world’s species are already in existence. This is a false assumption as species change, merge, and adjust over time. As the environment changes genetic variability and inter-breeding will create new species that vary from their ancestors in unique ways. This is a necessity in living in a moving and adjusting world where new adaptations are needed to overcome challenges.