DNA Barcode library of Alaskan Arthropods

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The US Fish and Wildlife Service, Headquarters Region 7 intends to award a single source Cooperative Agreement as authorized by 505 DM 2.14.B to the University of Alaska Museum, University of Alaska Fairbanks. This award will be made under the North and West CESU Agreement. This notice is not a request for proposals and the Government does not intend to accept proposals. Award will be made 15 days after this notice. PURPOSE: This project will add substantially to an emerging DNA barcode library for Alaskan Arthropods. DNA barcoding is the use of a short, standardized portion of a genome for species identification. Identifications of unknown specimens can be made by comparing extracted sequences to a reference library of sequences taken from identified specimens. As an inventory and monitoring tool, DNA barcoding complements morphological taxonomic methods for species identification. A particular strength of DNA barcoding is the ability to accurately identify damaged, immature, fragmentary, and even highly processed material that may not be identifiable by any other method. The development of a barcode library will allow Arthropod inventories on Refuges and elsewhere at a substantially reduced cost. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this agreement are to provide assistance for the processing of ca. 2,000 Arthropod species for DNA sequencing and barcoding for development of a DNA barcode library. This library will be utilized to aid the inventory of Refuge Arthropod communities, and the final product will be publicly available through several websites. REASON FOR SINGLE SOURCE: Unique Qualifications, Since 2006 with the hiring of the Curator of Insects, Dr. Derek Sikes, at the University of Alaska Museum, the state insect collection has grown from under 2,000 cataloged specimens to over 150,000. Aggressive cataloging and collecting efforts throughout the state, many in National Wildlife Refuges, have produced a large collection of well preserved and recently collected Alaskan arthropod specimens. This project requires recently collected specimens that have intact DNA for DNA barcoding, and specifically requires Alaskan specimens. There is no other source of ca. 2,000 species represented by specimens that meet these criteria than the University of Alaska Museum Insect Collection.

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