[Annelida] Re: Barcoding

[Brian Paavo]

Aloha all,

As someone just beginning to venture into the annelid genetics world I 
think it is important in these discussions of barcoding to remember the 
big picture.  As Elena highlighted, any single application is ridiculous 
on its own.  A dissecting 'scope, skilled taxonomist, and an appropriate 
key (two of which are sometimes difficult to obtain) are far superior to 
a genetic approach.  The ideal science-fiction world will not come 
about, however, without the stumbling steps of pioneers who recognise 
their huge limitations and press onward anyway building a body of 
evidence (and total evidence is important) which can be patched up as 
things progress.  I would like to see a world where worm-aware people 
can spend their professional time watching live animals, understanding 
their ecological interactions, and exploring their relationships instead 
of spending the time on the mundane tasks of tagging names on individual 
specimens!

Cheers,
Brian Paavo :)