Toward a global DNA barcode reference library of the intolerant nonbiting midge genus Rheocricotopus Brundin, 1956

Environmental DNA metabarcoding is becoming a predominant tool in biodiversity assessment, as this time‐ and cost‐efficient tactics have the ability to increase monitoring accuracy. As a worldwide distributed genus, Rheocricotopus Brundin, 1956 still does not possess a complete and comprehensive global DNA barcode reference library for biodiversity monitoring. In the present study, we compiled a cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) DNA barcode library of Rheocricotopus with 434 barcodes around the world, including 121 newly generated DNA barcodes of 32 morphospecies and 313 public barcodes. Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery (ABGD) was applied on the 434 COI barcodes to provide a comparison between the operational taxonomic units (OTU) number calculated from the Barcode Index Number (BIN) with the “Barcode Gap Analysis” and neighbor‐joining (NJ) tree analysis. Consequently, these 434 COI barcodes were clustered into 78 BINs, including 42 new BINs. ABGD yielded 51 OTUs with a prior intraspecific divergence of Pmax = 7.17%, while NJ tree revealed 52 well‐separated clades. Conservatively, 14 unknown species and one potential synonym were uncovered with reference to COI DNA barcodes. Besides, based on our ecological analysis, we discovered that annual mean temperature and annual precipitation could be considered as key factors associated with distribution of certain members from this genus. Our global DNA barcode reference library of Rheocricotopus provides one fundamental database for accurate species delimitation in Chironomidae taxonomy and facilitates the biodiversity monitoring of aquatic biota.