Full Title
Online guide to the Identification and Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates
Contact Person
John Hawking
Project Team
Lyn Smith, Kathie Le Busque
Funding Body
Department of the Environment and Heritage
Duration
February 2003 to 15 March 2008
Outcomes
An online identification guide that is freely accessible by all and regularly updated, with the capability to download a CD version for offline use.
Summary
This interactive guide to the "Identification and Ecology of Australian Freshwater Invertebrates" (Bug Guide) is designed to provide ecological and taxonomic information to enable community groups, students and scientists to readily identify inland aquatic invertebrates - this includes some invertebrates from saline waters. The Bug Guide is used for monitoring programs at MDFRC, for Waterwatch Victoria sampling and AUSRIVAS monitoring.
General ecological information (habitat, life history, habit and distribution) and images are given, as available, for each of the major aquatic invertebrate groups. Colour digital images are used to illustrate the diagnostic characters used in the identification keys. A glossary, colour digital terminology images of actual specimens and a list of information sources are also provided. Successively more specific information and images are provided for most of the invertebrate groups to the family taxonomic level and for four insect orders and one crustacean order to the generic taxonomic level.
Future plans include educational resources at primary and secondary school levels as well as resources to be utilised by Waterwatch co-ordinators.
This online identification tool can be visited at www.mdfrc.org.au/bugguide. Please send feedback via the bugsonline@mdfrc.org.au link.
