Identification of cephalopods in Swedish waters
Øresland, R.; Lundin, K.; Oxby, G. (2024). Identification of cephalopods in Swedish waters. Divers and Scientists West Coast Sweden. Guide , 4. Divers and scientists West Coast Sweden: Lysekil. ISBN 978-91-531-0750-7. 76 pp.
Part of: Divers and Scientists West Coast Sweden. Guide . Divers and scientists West Coast Sweden: Lysekil. , more
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| Authors | | Top |
- Øresland, R.
- Lundin, K.
- Oxby, G.
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| Abstract |
We hope that with this guide we will increase interest in cephalopods, which are more common in our waters than many people might think, eg in shallow water, where they can be most easily observed during night dives. The guide is aimed at people with an interest in marine life, fishing, scuba diving, research, as well as those who participate in government and non-profit monitoring programmes of living marine resources. The importance of nonprofit organizations in research and monitoring programmes has increased in recent years through Citizen Science Projects. It is therefore important that easy to use identification guides are available. The most common method for species identification of plants and animals is to use an identification key. It consists of a series of paired statements to choose among which identify various higher taxonomic levels down to different genera and, finally, to species level. The advantage of an identification key is that one can determine a specimen even though the key can include hundreds of different species. The disadvantages are that one needs detailed morphological knowledge about the specimens to be identified and that an identification key can become somewhat outdated when new morphological and taxonomic knowledge has been published.An alternative to a traditional identification key is used in this guide. The reasons are that we wish to encourage readers to first learn how to observe, note and photograph different species-specific characters and then decide for themselves which species descriptions and photos in the guide may be useful to compare with their own observations and photos. This is beneficial since we only have 13 common species in the Skagerrak, the Kattegat, the Sound and the southern Baltic Sea. We show these species here and go through the necessary biological knowledge of cephalopods, as well as the importance of proper documentation. |
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