- Title of the project
CaBOL - Caucasus Barcode of Life
Management
Prof Dr Nils Hein
Org. categorisation
Directorate, Chair of Special Zoology, Biobank, Department of Arthropoda, Biodiversity Informatics, Diptera, Administration, Barcoding, Caucasus region, Biodiversity hotspot
Description of the
Record biodiversity
hotspots
The BMBF-funded Caucasus Barcode of Life (CaBOL) project aims to record as many animal and plant species of the Caucasus as possible in a reference database using their DNA barcodes and make them publicly accessible. Initially, the regional focus will be on the species-rich countries of Georgia and Armenia in the south-west of the Caucasus, which is one of the biodiversity hotspots of our planet. CaBOL will - based on experience from the GBOL and GGBC projects - lay the foundations for applied biodiversity research and further expand the educational infrastructure in the Caucasus region.
Barcode-
Species catalogue
In order to establish a reliable DNA barcode database, animals and plants are being collected and identified in various habitats in Armenia and Georgia. This can then be used as a basis for a wide range of future applications that require rapid and precise species identification; it will also facilitate the discovery of new species. With a species catalogue based on barcodes, differences in the species composition of individual regions and habitats (also over time) can be efficiently identified. Corresponding data, as well as the barcodes themselves, promote biodiversity research in the Caucasus as a whole. As an important complement to barcoding, CaBOL is investing in remote sensing technology and its localisation. In addition to the regional recording of individual species, GIS (Geographic Information System) and remote sensing are used to record further indicator variables relating to vegetation and correlate them with the occurrence of the species studied.
Biodiversity Centre
Caucasus
The barcode database is a fundamental step towards the long-term goal of the CaBOL project: the establishment of a multinational biodiversity centre in the Caucasus. This centre will promote international cooperation, improve scientific infrastructures, engage in education, research Caucasian biodiversity and provide recommendations for its sustainable use. The infrastructure created by CaBOL will ensure scientific training in the Caucasus on modern methods and thus strengthen social and economic development in a region with a very high and at the same time endangered biodiversity.
Financing
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Team
Christoph Erhardt
ztm Biodiversity informatics ScientistPhone: +49 228 9122 248
E-mail: c.erhardt@leibniz-lib.de
Dr. Peter Grobe
ztm Biodiversity informatics ScientistPhone: +49 228 9122 342
E-mail: p.grobe@leibniz-lib.deProf. Dr. Bernhard Misof
Management DirectorPhone: +49 228 9122 200
E-mail: b.misof@leibniz-lib.de
Dipl. Biol. Björn Rulik
ztm Invertebrates BonnPhone: +49 228 9122 373
E-mail: b.rulik@leibniz-lib.de
External team members
Ilia State University
Agricultural University of Georgia
Yerevan State University
Scientific Centre of Zoology and Hydroecology
Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
University of Koblenz-Landau
Numerous colleagues from other institutes are also supporting the project.