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New species found in Con Dao, Tho Chu islands

New species found in Con Dao, Tho Chu islands
  Con Dao archipelago is set to become a world-class site for marine, cultural, historical and spiritual tourism. Photo vietnamtourism.gov.vn  
Scientists from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST) have discovered five new species and a new record for coastal areas in Con Dao island in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Tho Chu island in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.

The coastal areas in Con Dao and Tho Chu islands are habitats of many plant and animal species, including benthic invertebrates.

According to Associate Prof. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Tu from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, the institute partnered with Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences to assess the biodiversity of medium-sized benthic invertebrate communities, especially nematodes in the ecosystems in this area.

They have found that nematodes are the group that accounts for more than 97% of the total number of individuals in the study area, followed by the group of copepods and a small group of invertebrates.

In Con Dao, the research team has identified 67 nematode species belonging to 26 families in seven orders. Meanwhile, in Tho Chu, they have recorded 100 species and types of nematodes, 81 genera belonging to 29 families and six orders.

The team successfully sequenced the I3-M11 gene segment of the COI mitochondrial gene for 45 nematode samples belonging to 35 species and species types.

From the research results, it held that the quality of the water environment based on indicator organisms in island areas and archipelagos far from the mainland needs further research, which is feasible.

Tu said that the research was initially successful in building an overall picture of the biodiversity of medium-sized benthic invertebrate communities and free-living nematodes in the ecosystem in the study area. Molecular data of the COI mitochondrial gene were established for free-living marine nematodes in coastal areas around Con Dao and Tho Chu islands, he added./.

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