TUTORIAL for Freshwater Fish Key

 When you open the key four windows appear on your screen. The top left window contains identifying features (characters and character states) used for identification. The top right window contains the list of Australian freshwater fish species. Species are also linked to information and pages elsewhere in the website.

TIPS AND HINTS

Start anywhere

·         Although you can start anywhere in the key, we recommend you start with the most obvious feature.

·         A good starting point is often the Where found feature because many species have restricted distributions.

·         While colour is important for identifying some closely related species, be aware that some species are highly variable in colour.

·         The functionality of the Lucid Player is explained by selecting the Help iconHelp on the toolbar, or by accessing it via the Help menu (F1).

·         Drag the inside edges of the windows in and out to change their size.


Launch the key

·         Click the http://keys.lucidcentral.org/keys/v3/diatoms/key/index/Media/Html/images/tutorial/expand_feature.gif symbol beside a feature to see the character states.

·         Many character states are illustrated and all terms used in the key are in the Glossary elsewhere in the website.

·         When you select a character state, species that do not possess that state are eliminated from the list.

·         Selected characters and discarded species appear in the lower windows.

·         Use the Best Best, Next Best Next Best, and Prune Redundant Features Prune Redundant Featuresbuttons to select the best character(s) to distinguish between remaining species.

·         Continue selecting character states until only one species remains, or until you run out of features.

·         For a quick visual assessment, a thumbnail image is attached to each species. Click on the Image icon Image Icon or thumbnail to open a larger version of the image.

·         Also try the Differences tool Differences near the right-hand end of the toolbar. Click a feature shown in the Differences window to display character states for each remaining species.

·         Visit species information pages and images elsewhere in the website, and then browse species in a family or genus.


If no species remain

·         Review your chosen features and undo any selections you were unsure of by clicking the ticked box again.

·         Restart the key by clicking on the icon on the left of the toolbar.

·         The species may have a new distribution, due to floods, for example

·         Finally, your fish may be an undescribed species, and therefore not added to the key. Although you will not be able to identify the fish because its features will not have been included in the data matrix, you can probably work out its family or even genus from closely related species in the key.


Author: Bray, D.J. 2018