The Southeast Regional Taxonomic Center is located in the Marine Resources Research Institute (South Carolina Department of Natural Resources) in Charleston, South Carolina. Our facility has developed a curated collection of marine and estuarine animals from the South Atlantic Bight and is maintaining a searchable library based on taxonomic peer-reviewed literature. Through the use of collaborations with other labs and museums, SERTC has collected and preserved representative specimens from numerous habitats throughout the Southeast, documenting several range extensions for Atlantic species.

In order to provide fisheries managers and scientists in the southeast US Atlantic with expertise in taxonomy as well as a permanent, archived collection of the region’s fauna, SERTC is currently in the process of expanding its reference collection to include fish and invertebrates collected by the Southeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program: South Atlantic Coastal Survey (SEAMAP-SA Coastal Survey ).  SEAMAP monitors the status and trends of coastal species by collecting abundance and biomass data of all species occurring in shallow, nearshore coastal waters of the South Atlantic Bight (depths of 15-30 ft) from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Cape Canaveral, Florida.  The species most frequently collected in SEAMAP trawls are currently being added to the online photo gallery, and voucher specimens accessioned into the taxonomic collection.  Fin clips from each species will also be available for genetic analyses. 

Click here to view the Southeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program (SEAMAP) photo gallery

SERTC Highlights:

SERTC's latest addition to the educational poster series: "Smooth Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora"

Classroom sets of this guide are available to educators on a limited basis. Please email SERTC for more information. Access the guide digitally.