Venue
Please note that this seminar takes place in a different room than usual: Kristine Bonnevies hus: Proteome 3627.
Abstract
Species are fundamental biological units used in ecological and evolutionary analyses. Because protistan diversity is so large and their morphological characters are so small, molecular methodologies are the only way that we can attempt to uncover most protistan species in complex environmental samples. One step in the sequencing-bioinformatics pipeline of molecular methodologies is clustering sequencing reads into operational taxonomic units (OTUs). These OTUs are used in the place of species in downstream analyses. Here I will discuss the underlying assumptions that different clustering methods make in how they handle metabarcoding data. I will then discuss how these differently constructed OTUs may or may not equate with our concepts of species and with the operational criteria that we use to delimitate species in nature.
Speaker
Micah Dunthorn from the Natural History Museum, UiO. Visit Micah Dunthorn's Homepage.
Zoom link
So far, the seminar will take place in person), although we will also have a ZOOM link open during the seminar.
The zoom link has been shared through the CEES seminar mailing list. UiO. Contact us if you would like to be forwarded the invitation e-mail or to subscribe to the list. (Contact Tore Wallem). UiO users can access the Zoom meeting details at this page.