DNA Barcoding Identifies Illegal Parrot Trade: Figure 1.

Abstract

Illegal trade threatens the survival of many wild species, and molecular forensics can shed light on various questions raised during the investigation of cases of illegal trade. Among these questions is the identity of the species involved. Here we report a case of a man who was caught in a Brazilian airport trying to travel with 58 avian eggs. He claimed they were quail eggs, but authorities suspected they were from parrots. The embryos never hatched and it was not possible to identify them based on morphology. As 29% of parrot species are endangered, the identity of the species involved was important to establish a stronger criminal case. Thus, we identified the embryos' species based on the analyses of mitochondrial DNA sequences (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene [COI] and 16S ribosomal DNA). Embryonic COI sequences were compared with those deposited in BOLD (The Barcode of Life Data System) while their 16S sequences were compared with GenBank sequences. Clustering analysis based on neighbor-joining was also performed using parrot COI and 16S sequences deposited in BOLD and GenBank. The results, based on both genes, indicated that 57 embryos were parrots (Alipiopsitta xanthops, Ara ararauna, and the [Amazona aestiva/A. ochrocephala] complex), and 1 was an owl. This kind of data can help criminal investigations and to design species-specific anti-poaching strategies, and demonstrate how DNA sequence analysis in the identification of bird species is a powerful conservation tool.

Development of molecular markers for determining continental origin of wood from white oaks (Quercus L. sect. Quercus)

“…Forensic applications of molecular markers are already established with regard to illegal wildlife trade (parrots: [17]; sea turtles: [53]) or for identification of products made of endangered animal species ('whale meat': [54]; horn: [55]). The barcode of wildlife project (http:// www.barcodeofwildlife.org/) has been originated especially for this purpose.…”

ExNOTic: Should We Be Keeping Exotic Pets?

“…There is an illegal trade in wild parrots that continues to cause significant welfare issues during capture, transport and at the eventual destination [24,25]; therefore, keeping wild-caught parrots is unethical and is not recommended for any reason. First or second generation captive bred parrots cannot be considered domesticated and are genetically identical to wild parrots; as such, their ethological needs coincide with those of wild birds [9].…”

Cryptic diversity revealed by DNA barcoding in Colombian illegally traded bird species

“…; Gonçalves et al . ). DNA barcoding ensures a rapid and accurate identification of a broad range of biological specimens using a standard and small gene region of the DNA sequence.…”