Aquatic invertebrates are a key component of freshwater ecosystems, and an understanding of aquatic invertebrate taxonomy is central to freshwater science. The North American Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Digital Reference Collection (NAAMDRC) was created by the USGS Aquatic Experimental Lab (AXL) to provide users with high-quality digital microscopy photographs to aid identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Some taxonomy labs possess a physical 'reference' collection of expertly identified type specimens that are used to verify specimen identification. Digital reference collections overcome two common problems of traditional reference collections:

  1. Many biologists do not have easy access to reference collections
  2. Physical collections are often highly regional and thus limited in scope

Aquatic invertebrates are a key component of freshwater ecosystems, and an understanding of aquatic invertebrate taxonomy is central to freshwater science. The North American Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Digital Reference Collection (NAAMDRC) was created by the USGS Aquatic Experimental Lab (AXL) to provide users with high-quality digital microscopy photographs to aid identification of aquatic macroinvertebrates. Some taxonomy labs possess a physical 'reference' collection of expertly identified type specimens that are used to verify specimen identification. Digital reference collections overcome two common problems of traditional reference collections:

  1. Many biologists do not have easy access to reference collections
  2. Physical collections are often highly regional and thus limited in scope

In NAAMDRC, we annotated important defining characteristics of taxa so that users can more easily identify invertebrates found in aquatic samples. Currently, the DRC contains >5000 images and covers ~75% of the aquatic insect genera occurring west of the Mississippi (and to a lesser extent Eastern taxa) with plans to expand the DRC to include non-insect taxa and all of North America in coming years. The collection also includes pupae and adult life stages of some taxa.

This database also includes metadata associated with each specimen. This ancillary data documents habitat type, time and location of collection, the names of the verifying taxonomists, and any additional taxonomic information associated with each specimen to further aid in identification and verification of taxa. Specimens in the DRC are typically presented at genus level because species level keys are unavailable for immature stages of most aquatic insects, and immature stages are most often encountered in freshwater science.

In NAAMDRC, we annotated important defining characteristics of taxa so that users can more easily identify invertebrates found in aquatic samples. Currently, the DRC contains >5000 images and covers ~75% of the aquatic insect genera occurring west of the Mississippi (and to a lesser extent Eastern taxa) with plans to expand the DRC to include non-insect taxa and all of North America in coming years. The collection also includes pupae and adult life stages of some taxa.

This database also includes metadata associated with each specimen. This ancillary data documents habitat type, time and location of collection, the names of the verifying taxonomists, and any additional taxonomic information associated with each specimen to further aid in identification and verification of taxa. Specimens in the DRC are typically presented at genus level because species level keys are unavailable for immature stages of most aquatic insects, and immature stages are most often encountered in freshwater science.

Our goal is that this DRC will be used as a tool by researchers and practitioners of freshwater science to:

  • Advance freshwater research that depends on taxonomic identification of aquatic invertebrates
  • Enhance teaching of aquatic ecology in K-12 and university classes
  • Aid training of graduate students conducting freshwater research
  • Support resource management agencies and private sector companies in processing aquatic macroinvertebrate samples
  • Provide a clearing house of high quality, public-domain images for use by the broader freshwater science community for presentations and publications

Our goal is that this DRC will be used as a tool by researchers and practitioners of freshwater science to:

  • Advance freshwater research that depends on taxonomic identification of aquatic invertebrates
  • Enhance teaching of aquatic ecology in K-12 and university classes
  • Aid training of graduate students conducting freshwater research
  • Support resource management agencies and private sector companies in processing aquatic macroinvertebrate samples
  • Provide a clearing house of high quality, public-domain images for use by the broader freshwater science community for presentations and publications

Suggested Citation

The NAAMDRC is a product of the USGS Aquatic Experimental Lab (AXL). Photographs in the NAAMDRC are in the public domain and are available for use without permission.

If these images are used in public presentations such as scientific meetings, please provide the following photo credit:

USGS - NAAMDRC

If the images are used for publication or if the NAAMDRC was used to support published research (e.g., as a specimen identification tool to augment traditional taxonomic keys), please use the following citation:

Walters, D.M., M.A. Ford, and R.E. Zuellig. 2017. An open-source digital reference collection for aquatic macroinvertebrates of North America. Freshwater Science 36(4):693-697. DOI: 10.1086/694539.

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