The California Current covers 3218 km and extends from the Canadian Vancouver Island to the middle
The current supports a large marine ecosystem that is home to species ranging from killer whales to abalone.
Now University of California ecologist PaulBarber and colleagues at the University of California and three other institutions have created a library of DNA barcodes that identify 605 species in the California Current, including 275 that have not previously been cataloged. The database covers about 70% of all animals that live there, including 99.9% of controlled species that are important for conservation and fishing.
Barcodes are a sequence of letters (A, T, C, and G) that describe the unique order of amino acids (adenosine, thymine, cytosine, and guanine) that identify the DNA of each species.
The new database will allow researchersconservationists and fishing boat owners can learn about species and ecosystems, and can help identify areas where certain species need additional protection.
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