Why Cypriniformes?
That is easy to answer! Enhancing our knowledge of this one group of fishes can rapidly transform many areas of science as we know them today to much more mature disciplines. Why and how is this possible? It’s all about diversity and how much we know about it, as well as the model organism species Danio rerio, the Zebrafish, also a Cypriniformes!
Diversity of Species, Biology, and Geography Diversity + Phylogeny + Danio rerio
Cypriniformes includes species that are likely the most commonly known and encountered species around the world. They are in nearly every freshwater ecosystem and are usually most abundant. Across the known diversity of about 3,500 species there exists an astounding diversity in behaviors, anatomies, ecologies, distributions, and many aspects of their physiologies and molecular biologies. Carps, Koi, Goldfish, Danios, Sharks, Minnows, Chubs, Shiners, Suckers, Algae Eaters, and Loaches represent only a few common names of different large groups of Cypriniformes that are known to most every households as pets (and by other names) or research laboratories whether they are studying their ecology, evolution, biogeography, physiology, behavior, development, neurobiology, or any other topic of a plethora of research topics that these species serve as fundamentally important foci.
Insight into and comprehension of how these fishes evolved this diversity over continents, river and lake systems, and local and regional areas over the historic past that often no longer exist are elementary questions that scientists continue to investigate for many, many different groups of organisms in search of generalized processes and patterns underlying the evolution of life on Earth. Progress in these areas has been slow, primarily because of a lack of knowledge of the genealogical histories of the species, information on their biologies, and more refined information regarding their developmental and molecular biology. This essential “Evolutionary Triad” exists for the Cypriniformes and is only becoming more complete for use by various communities to investigate comparative and non-comparative biological and evolutionary questions, hypotheses, and theories. While many groups of organisms may have diversity and some information on genealogical relationships, these groups are unquestionably trumped by the Cypriniformes because of all the existing and developing knowledge of all aspects of the Zebrafish, Danio rerio. As a model organism species research on the Zebrafish receives an overwhelming greater amount of research funding and attention from the scientific community about its every aspect of being. Why? Because knowledge gained from this easily manipulated and maintained species with a short generation time can and does serve as an important surrogate research species for human biology, disease, mutations, health, etc. Knowledge gained through the various visible aspects of this species and known underlying genetic changes tied to these features can and do serve as important predictors for human-related issues.
The Evolutionary Triad necessary for unearthing and understanding so much of what we seek in biology is much more easily obtained through focused efforts by a world-wide community working not only on Zebrafish as a laboratory model organism but the natural diversity of Cypriniformes species as well. Combining and synthesizing the genetic and non-genetic information resulting from this dichotomy of research emphasis will lead to a phenomenal transformation of knowledge in comparative evolutionary biology in the very near future.
Please feel free to join the many researchers and hobbyists working with Cypriniformes fishes from around the world to help us accelerate both knowledge acquisition and synthesis of these fishes. Through the Cypriniformes Commons and several linked and inherent components of CC you will find opportunities to contribute – whether it be descriptive or biological information of a species to Species Profiles, diversity and taxonomic information to Taxon Tracker, sharing specimens for study, or contributing or collaborating on field or laboratory studies – you are most welcome to join.
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