Taxonomic Guides to Benthic Invertebrates of Puget Sound Margaret Dutch, Kathy Welch, Sandra Weakland, Julianne Ruffner, Suzan Pool, Valerie Partridge - Environmental Assessment Program, Marine Monitoring Unit New Tools for Over 1200 unique taxa of benthic, or bottom-dwelling, invertebrates (also Identifying Puget known as benthos) live in the soft Sound Benthos sediments of Puget Sound. Benthos are a critical part of the Puget Sound food web. Taxonomic guides are The Washington State Department being developed for of Ecology (Ecology) has surveyed Puget Sound benthos. the condition of benthic invertebrate Guides for 152 taxa have assemblages and their associated been developed to date. sediments throughout Puget Sound (see map below) since 1989 as part These guides will of the Puget Sound Ecosystem facilitate standardized Monitoring Program (PSEMP) taxonomy for future Puget (Dutch et al., 2009). Figure 1. Gattyana cirrhosa, a Puget Sound polychaete Sound and Salish Sea benthos monitoring. Data from these surveys are used to calculate various sediment quality indicators (Dutch et al., 2014), including a Benthic Infaunal Index, which inform regional environmental managers and policy makers about sediment and benthos condition. Links to Taxonomic The Importance of Consistent Guides and More Taxonomic Nomenclature The PSEMP is a status and trends program which You can learn more about examines change in condition of the benthos over our studies of the Puget time. It is therefore essential that the taxonomic Sound benthos at the nomenclature, the scientific system used to name following websites: different taxa, is applied consistently to organisms collected from different locations over many years. Taxonomic guides While the taxonomic work for our program has been PSEMP Sediment conducted primarily by the same regional specialists Monitoring data and since 1989, this will not always be the case. To ensure that the nomenclature remains consistent in reports future years, the literature and morphological features “Eyes Under Puget currently used to identify each animal must be documented by Ecology staff so that new taxonomists Sound” blog will generate consistent, comparable data. Invertebrate and Two types of products are being prepared to aid with monitoring photos consistency of future taxonomic work: (1) voucher sheets, one for each recognized species. Encyclopedia of (2) workshop notes, from trainings with regional Puget Sound - Benthic taxonomists, including photographs of key taxonomic Invertebrates Figure 2. Puget Sound sediment features, compiled for groups of related species. monitoring study area (in white) Publication 14-03-201 November 2014 Page 2 Taxonomic Guides to Benthic Invertebrates of Puget Sound Taxonomic Voucher Sheets Ecology staff and regional taxonomists have begun to develop voucher sheets for over 1200 recognized taxa of Puget Sound benthic invertebrates. Each sheet includes: (1) taxonomic nomenclature, (2) original and later descriptions, (3) a list of Ecology voucher specimens examined, (4) habitat information, (5) diagnostic characteristics, (6) characteristics of related species, (7) comments, and (8) citations of published taxonomic literature used to identify each taxon. Each sheet is verified by a regional expert prior to finalization. Voucher sheets developed to date are listed below. They are posted to Ecology’s website and accessible through the “Taxonomic guides” link provided on the previous page. Specimen Diagnostic Characteristics Phylum Annelida Photo, Illustration Diagnostic Characteristics Photo, Illustrations Credit Ampharete acutifrons Aphelochaeta sp. N6 Ampharete cf. crassiseta Glycera americana Distinctive methyl green ventral Ampharete finmarchica Glycera macrobranchia transverse stripes on middle thoracic segments. Stain also retained on the tip of the Ampharete goesi brazhnikovi Glycera nana Marine prostomium. Sediment Anterior region inflated with about Monitoring Ampharete labrops Glycera oxycephala 10-20 crowded setigers Team, 1/2014 Ampharete sp. N1 Glycera robusta Aphelochaeta glandaria Hemipodia simplex Complex Monticellina serratiseta Filiform branchiae beginning on the Aphelochaeta monilaris peristomium (sheets completed by R.E. Ruff, Aphelochaeta sp. N5 Ruff Systematics) Figure 3. Example of diagnostic characteristics recorded on a voucher sheet for the polychaete Aphelochaeta monilaris. Species Diagnostic Characteristics Phylum Arthropoda Photo, Illustration Diagnostic Characteristics Photo, Illustrations Credit J. Cordell Americhelidium millsi Desdimelita desdichada Americhelidium pectinatum Megamoera dentata Gnathopods 1 and 2 (♂,♀), palm transverse. Americhelidium rectipalmum Megamoera subtener J. Cordell Americhelidium shoemakeri Mesocrangon munitella Cheirimedeia zotea Protomedeia articulata Gnathopod 2 (♂), different in form from gnathopod 1; segment 6 distally tapered, dactyl overlapping the palm by more than Crangon alaskensis Protomedeia grandimana half its full length, segment 5 slightly broader than segment 6. Desdimelita californica (sheets finalized by Jeff Cordell, University of Washington) Figure 4. Example of diagnostic characteristics recorded on a voucher sheet for the amphipod Cheirimedeia zotea. Taxonomic Workshop Notes Polychaete taxonomy workshops were conducted at Ecology’s benthic laboratory from July 2013 through August 2014. These sessions were led by Kathy Welch1, Ecology’s taxonomic specialist. A total of 20 polychaete families and 127 species were reviewed during these workshops. They are listed in the table on the following page. Key morpho- logical features for Puget Sound species were described and photographed, peer-reviewed taxonomic literature was consulted and referenced, and notes were generated. Notes for each workshop are posted to Ecology’s website, accessible through the “Taxonomic guides” link provided on the previous page. 1 recently retired from the Department of Ecology Page 3 Phylum Annelida: Polychaete families and species examined Ampharetidae Maldanidae Paranaitis polynoides Amage anops Axiothella rubrocincta Phyllodoce cuspidata Ampharete labrops Chirimia similis Phyllodoce groenlandica Anobothrus gracilis Chirimia nr. biceps Phyllodoce hartmanae Apistobranchidae Clymenura columbiana Phyllodoce longipes “Clymenura” gracilis Sige montereyensis Apistobranchus ornatus Apistobranchus tullbergi Euclymene cf. zonalis Polynoidae Isocirrus longiceps Capitellidae Gattyana cirrhosa Maldane sarsi Barantolla nr. americana Harmothoe imbricata Nicomache personata Capitella capitata Complex Lepidasthenia berkeleyae Nicomache lumbricalis Heteromastus filobranchus Lepidasthenia longicirrata Notoproctus pacificus Mediomastus ambiseta Malmgreniella bansei Petaloproctus borealis Tenonia priops Mediomastus californiensis Petaloproctus tenuis Notomastus hemipodus Sabellariidae Praxillella gracilis Notomastus latericius Idanthyrsus saxicavus Praxillella pacifica Neosabellaria cementarium Cirratulidae Rhodine bitorquata Aphelochaeta glandaria Complex Scalibregmatidae Nephtyidae Aphelochaeta monilaris Asclerocheilus beringianus Bipalponephtys cornuta Aphelochaeta sp. N5 Scalibregma californicum Nephtys caeca Caulleriella pacifica Travisia brevis Nephtys caecoides Chaetozone acuta Travisia pupa Nephtys ferruginea Chaetozone bansei Nephtys glabra Sphaerodoridae Chaetozone commonalis Nephtys longosetosa Sphaerodoropsis minuta Chaetozone setosa Complex Nephtys punctata Sphaerodoropsis sphaerulifer Cirratulus robustus Spionidae Cirratulus spectabilis Nereididae Boccardiella hamata Monticellina serratiseta Alitta virens Boccardia pugettensis Monticellina sp. N1 Cheilonereis cyclurus Dipolydora brachycephala Monticellina tesselata Hediste limnicola Dipolydora socialis Tharyx parvus Nereis procera Platynereis bicanaliculata Laonice cirrata Tharyx sp. N1 Paraprionospio alata Oenonidae Cossuridae Polydora limicola Drilonereis longa Cossura bansei Prionospio (Minuspio) lighti Notocirrus californiensis Cossura pygodactylata Prionospio (Prionospio) steenstrupi Hesionidae Orbiniidae Pseudopolydora kempi Heteropodarke heteromorpha Leitoscoloplos pugettensis Pygospio elegans Microphthalmus spp. Naineris uncinata Rhynchospio arenincola Micropodarke dubia Naineris quadricuspida Scolelepis squamata Oxydromus pugettensis Phylo felix Spio cirrifera Scoloplos armiger Podarkeopsis glabrus Spiophanes berkeleyorum Phyllodocidae Spiophanes norrisi Lumbrineridae Eranno bicirrata Eteone californica Terebellidae Lumbrineris californiensis Eteone columbiensis Polycirrus californicus Lumbrineris cruzensis Eteone leptotes Artacama coniferi Ninoe gemmea Eteone pacifica Lanassa venusta Scoletoma luti Eulalia californiensis Amphitrite robusta Eulalia quadrioculata Magelonidae Pista wui Eumida longicornuta Magelona longicornis Hesionura coineaui difficilis Magelona berkeleyi Nereiphylla castanea Magelona sacculata Page 4 Taxonomic Guides to Benthic Invertebrates of Puget Sound Figure 5. Examples of diagnostic A. B. C. characteristics recorded in workshop notes for the polychaete Phylo felix. A. Anterior end, dorsolateral view; note pointed prostomium. B. Fringed postsetal neuropodial lobes. C. Thoracic neuropodial spines. Summary and Future Work This report describes two types of taxonomic products generated for PSEMP benthos monitoring. Descriptions have been generated for 152 soft sediment taxa to date. We emphasize that these tools are needed to maintain the consistency and integrity of long-term benthos data generated for this program and for other Puget Sound and greater