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Key to Freshwater Algae: A Web-based Tool to Enhance Understanding of Microscopic Biodiversity

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Abstract

The Freshwater Ecology Laboratory at Connecticut College has developed an interactive, Web-based identification key to freshwater algal genera using the Lucid Professional and Lucid 3 software developed by the Centre for Biological Information Technology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. The Key to Freshwater Algae was funded by the National Science Foundation (Award #CCLI-0229531) to encourage awareness of microscopic diversity through a creative, investigative approach to learning. Users may answer questions in any order to quickly and efficiently narrow down the list of taxa to only those that match the characteristics they have chosen. All characters and terms are clearly explained for ease of use by those unfamiliar with the algae. This non-hierarchical, user-friendly key is linked to Web pages containing a wealth of resources, including images, movies, and information about the morphology, ecology, and reproduction of each organism. These materials are especially well suited for classroom use in conjunction with cultures purchased from the Carolina Biological Supply Company, a popular distributor of biological materials. Cultures from the Carolina Biological Supply Company representing nearly 75 freshwater genera from a variety of algal groups were observed and photographed using high resolution digital imaging to fully document cellular structure and highlight distinguishing features. High quality video footage of each taxon incorporating titles, diagrams, and structural terminology was outputted as QuickTime movies, on DVD, and on VHS cassettes. The Key to Freshwater Algae and supplemental materials are available online at http://silicasecchidisk.conncoll.edu to provide an innovative alternative to traditional dichotomous keys that is particularly appropriate for introducing students in undergraduate life science courses to the algal groups and genera.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would especially like to thank Frank Fulchiero, digital media specialist at Connecticut College, for all of his help and guidance in producing the QuickTime Movies and DVDs. We also greatly appreciate the Carolina Biological Supply Company’s contribution of live algal cultures and other supplies. Technical support from the Centre for Biological Information Technology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia was also instrumental in trouble-shooting the Lucid key. Lastly, we’d like to thank our colleagues and the students at Connecticut College who helped us to test our key and provided valuable feedback. This project was funded in part by National Science Foundation grant # CCLI-0229531 to PAS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT, 06320, USA

    Hannah A. Shayler & Peter A. Siver

  2. Department of Natural Resources, Cornell University, Fernow Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA

    Hannah A. Shayler

Authors
  1. Hannah A. Shayler
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  2. Peter A. Siver
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Correspondence to Hannah A. Shayler.

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Shayler, H.A., Siver, P.A. Key to Freshwater Algae: A Web-based Tool to Enhance Understanding of Microscopic Biodiversity. J Sci Educ Technol 15, 298–303 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9016-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-006-9016-4

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