Fishes

Specimens in a project that uses the Ichthyology catalog format show the fish measurement form. Sex, life stage, and weight units work the same way in every taxon group; see Measurements.

Specimen type

Every fish record starts with Specimen type:

Individual: one fish with its own measurements.
Lot: many individuals stored together, such as a jar of fish of the same species from one collecting event.

Choose Individual when the fish is cataloged and stored on its own. Choose Lot when several fish share one catalog number and container. A record keeps the values of both types, but only the fields of the selected type are shown and exported.

Individual measurements

Sex: select from the configured specimen-sex vocabulary.
Life stage: select from the configured life-stage vocabulary.
Standard length (mm): the length from the tip of the snout to the end of the vertebral column, excluding the caudal fin.
Total length (mm): the length from the tip of the snout to the tip of the longest caudal-fin ray.
Weight: specimen weight in the selected unit.
Remarks: additional information about the specimen.

Lot measurements

Total individuals: the number of fish in the lot, measured or not.
Life stage: the life stage of the lot.
Auto-update min and max: when on, NAHPU fills the ranges below from the individuals measured in the lot, and the range fields become read-only. Turn it off to enter the ranges by hand, for example when only the smallest and largest fish were measured.
Min. standard length (mm) and Max. standard length (mm).
Min. total length (mm) and Max. total length (mm).
Min. weight and Max. weight: weight range in the selected unit.
Remarks: additional information about the lot.

Lot summary shows, for standard length, total length, and weight, the mean, standard deviation, number measured (n), and range of the individuals in the lot. It also shows how many of the Total individuals have been measured.

Individuals in a lot

Use the Individuals section of a lot to record fish measured one by one.

Select Add individual.
Under Identity, enter the Tag ID, or keep the auto-numbered tag. Select Sex and Life stage.
Under Measurements, enter SL (mm), TL (mm), and weight in the lot's weight unit. Add Remarks when needed.
Select Save and add another to continue with the next fish, or Save to close the form.

Select an individual in the list to edit it. Deleting an individual also unlinks it from any specimen parts and parasites.

Tag ID numbering

Individual tag IDs can be numbered automatically. Configure the format in Settings > Specimens > Individual tag ID, which appears only for the Ichthyology catalog format, or open the menu on the Tag ID field and select Settings.

Prefix: text before the number, such as FT-.
Next number: the number given to the next individual. Leading zeros are kept, so 0007 is followed by 0008.
Suffix: text after the number, such as -A.
Next tag: a preview of the next tag ID.

An auto-numbered tag is marked Auto-numbered. Edit to override. Typing a different tag keeps your value and does not use up the next number. Select New number in the field menu to restore the next auto-numbered tag.

Parts and parasites

Fish catalogs show parasite-detection fields and the parasite tab. When a lot has individuals, specimen parts and parasites show an Individuals selector. Use Add individual to link the part or parasite to the fish it came from, such as a fin clip from one tagged fish. See Specimen Parts.

Water conditions

Record water conditions on the collecting event rather than on the specimen. Collecting-event environmental data include water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen saturation (%), conductivity (µS/cm), and flow velocity.

Export

Specimen exports for an Ichthyology catalog add these measurement columns: specimenType, individualCount, sex, lifeStage, standardLength, totalLength, weight, weightUnit, minStandardLength, maxStandardLength, minTotalLength, maxTotalLength, minWeight, maxWeight, and remark.

The individuals column lists the individuals of a lot, separated by |. Each entry looks like ID: FT-0001;SL: 52 mm;TL: 61 mm;Weight: 3.1 g;Sex: Female;Life stage: Adult. Specimen part and parasite exports list the IDs of their linked individuals, separated by commas.

In Darwin Core exports, individualCount is the lot's Total individuals, or 1 for an individual fish. See Export Records.