Internet-Based Larval Fish and Egg Taxonomic Key Resource for Freshwater and Marine Environments

Access to and utility of traditional hardcopy taxonomic fish keys is sometimes limited by availability, new species introductions/discoveries, characteristic corrections, publication errors, and/or costs, forcing scientists to rely on multiple, sometimes outdated keys. Recently available, web-based key platforms can provide greater access to these important resources and allow flexibility for updates/corrections, high-resolution images, and greater identification precision.

With funding support from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a collaborative effort was undertaken to develop open-access, web-based versions of seminal taxonomic keys used for freshwater and marine environments. Identification of Larval Fishes of the Great Lakes with Emphasis on the Lake Michigan Drainage (Auer, 1982) is the foundational document for freshwater systems. For the Atlantic near-shore environment, three references are being combined - Early Stages of Atlantic Fishes: An Identification Guide... (Richards, ed. 2005), Fishes of the Western North Atlantic. Part 9 Volume 2: Leptocephali (Bohlke, 1989), and Development of fishes of the Mid-Atlantic Bight... (USFWS, 1978). For the Pacific, The Early Stages of Fishes in the California Current Region, CALCOFI, Atlas No. 33 (Moser, ed. 1996)is being converted.

This presentation will describe and provide a demonstration of the resources and discuss their value relative to 316(b) compliance activities.