I have had a few requests to post the emails regarding my inquiry about
identifying amphipods:
Identifying amphipods to genus is relatively simple, to species can be a
bit more tricky.
Do you know what sub-order of amphipods you have- gammarid, caprellid,
hyperiid?
>From there it tends to be lengths, numbers + relative position of
projections, hairs and body parts, habitat preferences etc.
I'd suggest starting with the new Light + Smith Manual: Intertidal
Invertebrates from Central California to Oregon.
Are you not having luck with keys in Pennak and the like?
Try contacting Jim Thomas at Nova [EMAIL PROTECTED] and trying his
website www.nova.edu/ocean/jthomas/apod.html
Hi, Cortney,
If you're talking about fresh water amphipodia, get a hold of a former
professor of mine, James
Gooch. Here's his page on the Juniata College website:
http://www.juniata.edu/faculty/gooch and
here is his E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] He is one of the founders of the field of
population
genetics via electrophoresis of isozyme polymorhism, He worked with Gammarus
and Hyalella in
springs in central Pennsylvania. If he doesn't know their taxonomy, he
probably knows of
someone who does.
I hope this works out for you. Lots of luck.
Cortney;
The first question i have to ask is; freshwater or marine amphipods?
If freshwater, the first reference is Thorpe and Covich. If marine, I suspect
Light's manual will be
of help, but I'm not a marine guy....
Find the right keys for your location and habitat, then get in touch with an
expert for
verifications.
I live in Florida so I use a key to Florida Amphipods that was published by
the FLorida DEP and
was written by Sarah LeCroy. Sarah is at the University of Southern
Mississippi's Gulf Coast
Research Lab, she is very helpful if you have any questions.
For the Atlantic Coast, you want to look at Barnard, J.L. 1981, Families and
Genera of Marine
Gammaridean Amphipoda
and
Bousfield, E.L. 1971, Shallow water gammaridean amphipoda of New England.
This is, of course, assuming you are working with marine amphipods.
Its been so long since I've seen a freshwater one, that I cannot remember where
to go for those.....
Also, the crustacean list, CRUST-L is really, really helpful. you can post
inquiries and pictures
there and you will have no end of helpful advice.
This work sounds familiar, as I once conducted a similar survey. I
spent a
season collecting benthic samples, sieved them, and pickled the animals in
small bottles labeled with location and date. Then I spent years
identifying all
the animals. I'm afraid there is no easy way. Sorry.
Take care, Tom
Tom Mosca III, Ph.D.
Courtney,
It's been a few years since I was doing this, but if I remember correctly
I used the eyes and relative leg length as 2 main distinguishing
features. The shape of the exoskeleton is another good one. Hope that helps.
Hi Cortney,
Craig Staude at Friday Harbor Labs out in Washington is a pretty good amphipod
taxonomist
(although it's not his main job). I think he just does West Coast taxa, but he
might be able to help
you. His email is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Do you have the Bousfield guide to amphipods of New England? That's the
one we use here in Virginia, and it covers more northern species as well.
You should be able to resolve which species are which in the field, but you're
going to have to look at a lot of them over time under the microscope first.
There will likely be some that are
similar enough that you will only be able to tell which genus or family you are
looking at.
I highly recommend subscribing to CRUST-L and directing some specific
inquiries there:
http://www.vims.edu/~jeff/crust-l.html
Hi Cortney!
I'm an isopod person with a little bit of experience with amphipod taxonomy.
They are a pain. I
don't know if you have checked this out or not but it is really helpful at
least in getting things to
the family level. It of course focuses on the australian fauna but the key
itself is very user friendly
and focuses on parts that are easier to see. For me at least since it is
interactive and has big
pictures it was helpful in figuring out what I was supposed to be looking for
http://www.crustacea.net/crustace/amphipoda/index.htm
Also, you may try emailing Dr. Jim Lowry at the Australian Museum. He is very
helpful and may be
able to point you in the right direction of some literature that is specific to
your area and is a little
more user friendly.
You should be able to find someone in the Pacific Northwest who could help you
out. I would have
suggested Ed Bousfield, one of the world experts on amphipods, but I don't have
his current
contact information and don't know if he is still active. You should be able to
get at least pointed
in the right direction if you contact the two people I've listed below, both of
whom were involved
in a rapid assesment of invasive species in Puget Sound a number of years.
Although I know quite
a bit about amphipods in the southeastern US, I haven't really amassed the
literature I'd need to
be confident of identifcation of northeastern Pacific species. I hope this
helps some.
These are all the suggestions so far, thanks everyone, every suggestion has
been a lot of help.
Thanks!
