Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney of the Stroud Water Research Center to Lead the Freshwater...

Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney of the Stroud Water Research Center to Lead the
Freshwater Surveillance Group for the International Barcode of Life Project

AVONDALE, Pa., July 6 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Barcode of
Life (iBOL) project, which hopes to assemble a DNA sequence library of the
world's species using barcode technology, has appointed Dr. Bernard W.
Sweeney, Director of the Stroud(TM) Water Research Center, to head its
Freshwater Surveillance group. One of iBOL's ten working groups, each of which
is focused on different organisms and environments, the Freshwater
Surveillance group is particularly important as freshwater ecosystems are the
most threatened by human activity, freshwater species are of particular
socio-economic import, and they are also the standard metric used by
scientists in environmental assessments such as water quality monitoring.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090706/DC41639 )
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080730/DC29191LOGO )

Sweeney was selected for the role because of the Stroud Water Research
Center's work using barcode technology to identify pollution-sensitive
mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies, and his decades-long experience in
freshwater research. Said Sweeney of his appointment, "As an aquatic
ecologist, I'd love to know how many species there are in the 'Exceptional
Value' stream near our laboratory, something we can't do with total certainty
without barcode technology, but my ultimate goal is to be able to put that
knowledge to work for the benefit of humanity. That's the real value of this
global effort."

Sweeney's group will initially concentrate on North America, working to create
a freshwater "library of life" based first on museum collections of
invertebrates most widely used for water quality assessment. The group will
then compare the results of water quality assessments based on course
identifications with those based on species level data. These pilot studies,
he hopes, will validate the benefits of identification based on DNA barcoding
and help solidify the required funding to take the program to Phase II and the
rest of the world. "If we're successful," said Sweeney, "then the rapid,
accurate and precise biotic monitoring this program enables will ensure more
effective protection, restoration and remediation efforts of all of our
freshwater resources."

With his appointment, Sweeney joins an elite group of scientists and a
consortium of 25 countries with the common goal to revolutionize our ability
to understand and monitor the world's biodiversity. "The promise of iBOL and
the work of the Freshwater Surveillance group is far reaching," said Paul
Hebert, Integrative Biology Professor at the University of Guelph, Canada and
Scientific Director of iBOL. "We have an opportunity to make huge strides in
both characterizing the world's biodiversity and in finding real utility in
that knowledge. Sweeney's appointment to help lead the Freshwater Surveillance
group represents an essential step towards attaining these goals."

Sweeney will continue in his current role as Director of the Stroud Water
Research Center and will draw upon the Center's talent and expertise, as well
as that of colleagues around the globe, while executing his new charter. For
more information on Dr. Bernard W. Sweeney, go to:
http://www.stroudcenter.org/about/bernardsweeney.htm. For more information on
the International Barcode of Life project, go to: www.dnabarcoding.org/.

About Stroud Water Research Center
The Stroud Water Research Center seeks to advance knowledge and stewardship of
fresh water through research, education and global outreach and to help
businesses, landowners, policy makers and individuals make informed decisions
that affect water quality and availability around the world. The Stroud Water
Research Center is an independent, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. For
more information, please visit: www.stroudcenter.org.

SOURCE Stroud Water Research Center

Liz Brooking of Stroud Water Research Center, +1-610-268-2153 x 274,
lbrooking@stroudcenter.org; or Lori Bona Hunt of University of Guelph,
+1-519-824-4120 x 53338, lhunt@uoguelph.ca