Dna Barcoding of Endangered Giant Clams in Islands Off the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

This study reports on the taxonomic verification and distribution of three presumed morphologically identical Tridacna species (giant clams), namely T. crocea, T. maxima and T. squamosa, from nine localities in islands off Terengganu, Pahang and Johor in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. A 467-bp partial sequence of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome c oxidase 1 (MT-CO1), which serves as the DNA barcoding gene, was analysed for species identification of 247 samples. The MT-CO1 gene was successfully used to identify all the giant clam samples to species level based on GenBank BLAST and BOLD databases. Three highly-supported clusters were obtained, which supported the morphological species determination into T. crocea, T. maxima and T. squamosa. However, a few discrepancies were observed, which could be attributed to misidentification of juveniles. T. squamosa and T. crocea were more closely related to each other compared to T. maxima. T. maxima and T. squamosa were found to be ubiquitous in all the islands, while T. crocea was restricted to the southeastern islands of Pahang and Johor. The precise identification of samples through the MT-CO1 gene and information on their distributions are useful in strategising the conservation and management of giant clams in this region.

Population status and genetic diversity of two endangered giant clams (Tridacna squamosa and Tridacna maxima) on the fringing reefs of Perhentian Islands, Malaysia

“…Likewise, T. crocea was not encountered in this study. Earlier reported occurrences of T. crocea in PMP (Mohamed‐Pauzi, Adib & Abdul‐Aziz, 1994; Tan & Yasin, 2001a) may be due to misidentification in the field, as the recruits and juveniles of T. maxima closely resemble those of T. crocea (Neo et al, 2017; Mamat et al, 2021).…”

“…Similar to the findings of previous studies (Yasin, 1996;Tan & Yasin, 2001a) no T. gigas were seen. Likewise, Aziz, 1994;Tan & Yasin, 2001a) may be due to misidentification in the field, as the recruits and juveniles of T. maxima closely resemble those of T. crocea (Neo et al, 2017;Mamat et al, 2021).…”

Dna Barcoding, Identifikasi Morfologi Dan Kepadatan Populasi Genus Tridacna Di Perairan Maluku Utara

“…Identifikasi spesies perlu dilakukan untuk menjawab berbagai isu biologi, seperti diversitas, biosekuriti, spesies konservasi dan pencegahan pandemic (Dayrat, 2005;Frézal & Leblois, 2008;Ni et al, 2012;Mamat et al, 2021). Isu tersebut yang akan mengarahkan pada prioritas area untuk kegiatan konservasi, terutama kima (Beger et al, 2014;DeBoer et al, 2014).…”

Range expansion and first observation of Tridacna noae (Cardiidae: Tridacninae) in American Sāmoa

“…Giant clams of the subfamily Tridacninae are conspicuous members of Pacific coral reef communities that play such important ecological roles that some authors have considered them as keystone species (Guibert et al, 2020; Mamat et al, 2021). All species of Tridacninae are of widespread conservation concern and are listed on both the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).…”