Documenting the Sea Around Us
Although we find ourselves in the 21st century, seemingly better equipped and informed than ever before, ecological knowledge, particularly of the marine realm, at times feels lacking. In Canada, a number of recent initiatives, such as the ratification of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, the federal-provincial Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, the Species at Risk Act, and the Sea Around Us project attribute a special significance to marine biodiversity. The various initiatives at documenting the underwater world highlight the need for more information regarding lesser-known species. Certainly the high cost of conducting marine surveys affects our ability to fully document biodiversity. Ship time is precious and the researcher may be faced with the daunting task of rapidly identifying many species, some of which are not often captured in standard fishing gear. And yet, much information might be obtained to help us understand marine biodiversity and ecology if more specific identifications could be reported from scientific and observer surveys.

A Complementary Tool
With this in mind, the Species at Risk and Biodiversity team of the Maurice Lamontagne Institute decided to produce a field tool to assist biologists in identifying and comparing the marine species of fishes and invertebrates that may be encountered in the Estuary and Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Members of the team participated in a number of scientific missions in 2001 and 2002, resulting in the collection of many specimens and images that were then reviewed for identification by consulting taxonomic keys and biologists. It should be noted that the Marine Species Identification Guide for the St. Lawrence is not intended to serve as a complete inventory, nor as a taxonomic key for all species. It is best used in conjunction with taxonomic references, as listed in the Bibliography.

This Guide was first produced in 2003 as a CD-ROM:

This Web site is an adaptation of the revised content of the CD-ROM allowing for a broader access via Internet. It represents also the most up-to-date version of the Guide.

Taxonomy
Even in today’s connected world, with access to numerous references and observations, it can be a heady task to be fully confident at identifying whatever may be in hand. In part this is because taxonomy is a particular field of science, with legal protocols that can vary between certain groups of organisms, depending on history and biology (Minelli 2003). Thus we have controversies regarding the designation of certain species such as the sand lances (Ammodytes spp.), the attribution of families within the codfishes, or cases of synonymy such as Parathemisto for Themisto spp. Latin names can at times vary, but the common names are even less consistent, some of which are presented here for convenience and not from actual usage. This is especially the case with the incredibly diverse crustaceans.

Wherever possible, the most recent Latin name was assigned to the identified specimen, with the principal references being drawn from Fishbase, Robins and Ray 1986, Scott and Scott 1988, Squires 1990, and the FAO Fisheries Synopses. Along with the necessity of consulting original documents or reprints of taxonomic descriptions, the ease-of-use of the world-wide web and the interest in biodiversity initiatives have resulted in the proliferation of web resources, most of which vary in their coverage and intended purpose. See: Useful Links.

Specimens
This Guide is principally a documentation of the mid-sized, open-water fishes and crustaceans as may be typically encountered in the lower maritime Estuary and Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. The vast diversity of other fauna, both small and large species, and particularly from coastal zones is only partially represented here. This is partly because many guidebooks already exist for these organisms, and also because our specimens were mostly acquired during scientific trawling missions, whereupon the kinds of organisms observed are biased in terms of the fishing gear employed (principally shrimp and otter-trawls).

Notably, this Guide has incomplete representations for the echinoderms, the molluscs, the crustacean, and the cnidarians (jellyfishes). New species will be included in subsequent updates of this Guide.

The conditions experienced while acquiring specimens have meant that the photos can vary in appearance, depending on equipment, lighting, and specimen condition (live or frozen). Furthermore, several species exhibit a wide variability of natural colour forms, and the user is cautioned not to make identifications solely on the basis of colour, of either the photos found here, or of what may be encountered in the field.

In addition to photos, the location of specimens can provide useful information. Survey data, mainly from missions on the CCGS Alfred Needler from 1990 to 2002, were used to present simplified distribution maps for the Estuary and Northern Gulf of St. Lawrence. However, a number of species in this Guide do not have standard records available for this region. See: How to use the Guide.

Technical notes
The pictures for this Guide were all taken with digital cameras, principally the 1.3 MP (megapixel) Sony® Cybershot® P-30 and the 5.0 MP Nikon® Coolpix® 5000.

Useful Links

• Biodiversity Portrait of the St. Lawrence
• Dictionary of Ichthyology - Brian Coad
• Crustacea.net
• Plongeetech.com - Christian Poirier (in French only)
• FishBase
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility
• Sea Around Us Project
• The Tree of Life project