First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species

Located in the central region of northern Nigeria, the Jos Plateau covers approximately 9,400 km² with an average altitude of 1,280 m and constitutes a unique terrestrial ecoregion known as the Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic. The biota of the Jos Plateau include endemic elements, but very limit...

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Main Authors: Michael Olaoluwa Popoola, Frédéric Dieter Benedikt Schedel, Paul DN Hebert, Ulrich Kurt Schliewen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2022-04-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/13049.pdf
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author Michael Olaoluwa Popoola
Frédéric Dieter Benedikt Schedel
Paul DN Hebert
Ulrich Kurt Schliewen
author_facet Michael Olaoluwa Popoola
Frédéric Dieter Benedikt Schedel
Paul DN Hebert
Ulrich Kurt Schliewen
author_sort Michael Olaoluwa Popoola
collection DOAJ
description Located in the central region of northern Nigeria, the Jos Plateau covers approximately 9,400 km² with an average altitude of 1,280 m and constitutes a unique terrestrial ecoregion known as the Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic. The biota of the Jos Plateau include endemic elements, but very limited information is available on its ichthyofauna. This is despite the fact that the ancient plateau contributes to several large rivers spanning multiple major drainage systems including the Niger and Benue Rivers, and Lake Chad. This study provides the first species list for the fishes of the Jos Plateau based mainly on 175 DNA barcoded museum voucher specimens representing 20 species, and another three species without a DNA barcode. In total, 23 species from eight families and 17 genera were collected from the Jos Plateau including five putatively new species, four in the family Cyprinidae and one in the Clariidae. With ten species, the Cyprinidae is the most diverse fish family on the Jos Plateau, followed by Clariidae and Cichlidae, each with three species. The study also provides data on species distribution and habitat parameters including information on water chemistry that strongly suggests that selected water bodies are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities. Urgent management steps are required to preserve the unique and diverse fish communities of the Jos Plateau and their habitats.
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spelling doaj.art-c9f59e26802f4a39b768f09cf5cf63eb2023-12-02T21:52:45ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592022-04-0110e1304910.7717/peerj.13049First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish speciesMichael Olaoluwa Popoola0Frédéric Dieter Benedikt Schedel1Paul DN Hebert2Ulrich Kurt Schliewen3Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, NigeriaUniversity of Basel, Basel, SwitzerlandUniversity of Guelph, Guelph, CanadaSNSB-Bavarian State Collection Zoology (ZSM), München, GermanyLocated in the central region of northern Nigeria, the Jos Plateau covers approximately 9,400 km² with an average altitude of 1,280 m and constitutes a unique terrestrial ecoregion known as the Jos Plateau forest-grassland mosaic. The biota of the Jos Plateau include endemic elements, but very limited information is available on its ichthyofauna. This is despite the fact that the ancient plateau contributes to several large rivers spanning multiple major drainage systems including the Niger and Benue Rivers, and Lake Chad. This study provides the first species list for the fishes of the Jos Plateau based mainly on 175 DNA barcoded museum voucher specimens representing 20 species, and another three species without a DNA barcode. In total, 23 species from eight families and 17 genera were collected from the Jos Plateau including five putatively new species, four in the family Cyprinidae and one in the Clariidae. With ten species, the Cyprinidae is the most diverse fish family on the Jos Plateau, followed by Clariidae and Cichlidae, each with three species. The study also provides data on species distribution and habitat parameters including information on water chemistry that strongly suggests that selected water bodies are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities. Urgent management steps are required to preserve the unique and diverse fish communities of the Jos Plateau and their habitats.https://peerj.com/articles/13049.pdfChecklistCOIMitochondrial DNAFreshwater fishesWest Africa
spellingShingle Michael Olaoluwa Popoola
Frédéric Dieter Benedikt Schedel
Paul DN Hebert
Ulrich Kurt Schliewen
First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
PeerJ
Checklist
COI
Mitochondrial DNA
Freshwater fishes
West Africa
title First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
title_full First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
title_fullStr First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
title_full_unstemmed First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
title_short First DNA barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the Jos Plateau (Nigeria) with comments on potential undescribed fish species
title_sort first dna barcode library for the ichthyofauna of the jos plateau nigeria with comments on potential undescribed fish species
topic Checklist
COI
Mitochondrial DNA
Freshwater fishes
West Africa
url https://peerj.com/articles/13049.pdf
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