During the pilot phase, approximately one-third of the estimated macrobiota of the island
have been inventoried. While focusing on the 'easier' groups, we purposefully cut across a
broad taxonomic gamut (e.g. plants to animals) and across multiple habitats (marine,
freshwater and terrestrial). We did this explicitly to challenge ourselves in order to identify
limitations and bottlenecks in all field aspects including collection, tissue preparation, photovouchering,
curation, and identifying appropriate repositories. Moreover, as an All Taxa
Biotic Inventory (ATBI), we also faced the analytical challenges (DNA extraction, primer
development, marker choice [e.g. corals, ferns, Foraminifera]) of producing sequence data
that cut across phyla (including little studied but perhaps ecologically important ‘orphan
phyla’). We have successfully met all these challenges, and in the process, provided
template material for CBOL, BOLD, LABS, and others to test and establish protocols that go
beyond ‘standard’ taxoncentric barcoding campaigns.
[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bF1onfAs-YA]
