SGER: Assessing Nematode Biodiversity

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The loss of variety as well as the numbers of organisms in natural habitats is occurring at a rapid pace due to human intervention. It has become crucial to monitor habitat destruction by more than visual observation. One possibility for early detection of ecosystem degradation is to monitor changes in diversity of nematode populations. Nematodes are ubiquitous in all ecosystems and are a major component of the food web in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Previous research on the structure and function of nematode communities in global ecosystems has shown that they are of ecological significance in soil systems. Soil nematodes are generally classified into five feeding groups: plant feeders, bacterivores, fungivores, omnivores and predators. More recently, the bacterial feeders have been considered as indicators of pollution in both aquatic and terrestrial systems. There are very few estimates of the numbers of species of bacterial feeding nematodes in various habitats. Species determinations become crucial as ecosystems are examined for stability/change in functioning due to the importance of bacterial feeding nematodes in soil, there has been limited taxonomic research directed at this group. One of the difficulties in species determinations is that most nematodes are transparent, microscopic, and require special techniques in handling in order to discern minute taxonomic characters, a process that is extremely laborious. A different, exploratory approach is proposed for examining the species diversity of bacterial feeding nematodes. Two methods will be used: 1) traditional morphological analyses, and 2) recently developed molecular biological techniques. It is anticipated that these techniques will allow for the rapid determination of biodiversity within a nematode population as well as delimitation of species isolates. These techniques should eventually allow the enumeration of species and determination of the loss of diversity within nematode populations from endangered habitats.