Looe Key Species List
I am conducting research for a book proposal on ocean conservation, with a special emphasis on Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary in the Florida Keys.
Much of the narrative will focus on the life of the reef over the course of a year. My challenge, however, is to find characters (species) and story lines to focus on during the course of a typical year on the reef.
I have compiled a list of about 900 species that have been identified as present in and around Looe Key Reef. I compiled my initial lists from Bohnsack et al., 2002, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 1980. Higher level taxonomy follows the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), while revisions to the Bohnsack and NOAA species lists were made according to information in ITIS, the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), AlgaeBase, the World Porifera Database, and Richards 2004.
I would appreciate your help in checking my list for errors, and in suggesting candidates that have been studied enough, preferably in Looe Key specifically, but at least from elsewhere in the Keys or the surrounding region, for me to find sufficient material for a narrative description of the reef's ecology.
REFERENCES
Bohnsack, James A., Adriana Y. Cantillo, and Maria J. Bello, eds. 2002. Resource Survey of Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary 1983. Silver Spring, MD: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastal and Estuarine Data Archaeology and Rescue Program.
Guiry, M.D., and G.M. Guiry. 2009. AlgaeBase. World-wide electronic publication, National University of Ireland, Galway. http://www.algaebase.org (Last accessed on 19 August 2009).
National Museum of Natural History. 2009. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). http://www.itis.gov (Last accessed 19 August 2009).
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1980. Final environmental impact statement prepared for the proposed Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Coastal Zone Management.
Richards, Benjamin. 2004. Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Species List. http://floridakeys.noaa.gov/sanctuary_resources/specieslist.pdf (Last accessed on 19 August 2009).
Society for the Management of Electronic Biodiversity Data. 2009. The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). http://www.marinespecies.org (Last accessed on 19 August 2009)
Van Soest, R.W.M, N. Boury-Esnault, J.N.A. Hooper, K. Rützler, N.J. de Voogd, B. Alvarez, E. Hajdu, A.B. Pisera, J. Vacelet, R. Manconi, C. Schoenberg, D. Janussen, K.R. Tabachnick, M. Klautau. 2008. World Porifera database. http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera (Last accessed on 19 August 2009).
