DNA barcoding post-larvae can improve the knowledge about fish biodiversity: an example from La Reunion, SW Indian Ocean

AbstractThe aim of this study was to demonstrate that fish larvae identified using their COI sequences offer a unique opportunity for improving the knowledge of local fish richness. Fish larvae were sampled at the end of their pelagic phase using light-traps set off the West Coast of La Reunion Island, southwestern Indian Ocean, once per month from October 2014 to March 2015. Among the 5174 larvae caught, 214 morphologically different specimens were selected, 196 successfully barcoded, giving a total of 101 different Barcode Index Numbers (BINs). Among these BINs, 55 had never been recorded in La Reunion exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and 13 were new for the BOLD database. Even if the sampling effort for collecting fish post-larvae during this study was relatively low, it allowed adding at least nine new species to an updated checklist of fishes of La Reunion EEZ.