MERMAID provides a centralized and standardized reference for all reef fish species and benthic attributes used in data collection and analysis. These references are validated against authoritative sources to ensure taxonomic accuracy and analytical consistency across the platform.
Taxonomic Authority and Source Integration
MERMAID maintains scientific accuracy by relying on the following authoritative databases:
World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS)
All fish and benthic species names in MERMAID are checked against WoRMS to ensure they are taxonomically valid and accepted. This reduces duplication and ensures naming consistency across projects. MERMAID also uses WoRMS to retrieve geographic distributions for all benthic attributes and reef fish.FishBase
For reef fish species, MERMAID automatically retrieves and regularly updates key ecological and biological attributes from FishBase, including:Geographic distribution (combined with information from WoRMS)
Maximum length (as total length)
Trophic level
Vulnerability to fishing
Climate vulnerability score
Length-weight coefficients (a and b) used to calculate biomass using a Bayesian length-weight model
Download Our Taxonomic Reference File
You can access the full reference list directly in MERMAID Collect, even when offline:
Open MERMAID Collect.
Click Reference in the top-right toolbar.
This will automatically download an XLSX file with the most up-to-date taxonomic references for fish and benthic attributes in MERMAID.
MERMAID’s taxonomic references are updated regularly. To ensure accuracy, always download the latest version before use.
What’s Inside the Reference File
The reference file contains 5 worksheets:
Fish Families
Fish Genera
Fish Species
Fish Groupings
Benthic
Each sheet provides a standardized, filterable list of valid taxonomic entries and their metadata. These lists are used across MERMAID Collect, Explore, and R package.
Tips for Using the Reference File
Use Excel filters in the Parent column:
Select (Blanks) to view only top-level categories
Select a specific parent (e.g., Acropora) to view all related attributes
Proposing New Benthic Attributes or Fish Species
The MERMAID taxonomic reference list is continuously expanding, thanks to contributions from users across the community. When users enter observations in MERMAID Collect, they can propose new benthic attributes or fish species that are not yet in the system.
Every proposal is reviewed by the MERMAID team, who verify the name against authoritative databases like WoRMS (for taxonomy) and FishBase (for fish traits and ecological data). Once approved, new entries are added to the reference database and become available to all MERMAID users.
If you notice a species or attribute that’s missing, cross check with the WoRMS database to ensure you’re using the accepted scientific name. If the accepted scientific name is not available in MERMAID, you can easily propose it while adding your data.
Learn how to do this in Adding a Sample Unit to Collect Data.
Standard Taxonomic Hierarchies in MERMAID
MERMAID uses a unified hierarchy structure for fish and benthic data across all tools—Collect, Explore, and the R package mermaidr. This ensures taxonomic consistency, reduces data cleaning, and enables reproducible analysis workflows.
Fish Hierarchy
MERMAID rolls up reef fish observations using the following structure:
Species → Genus → Family → Trophic Group
e.g., Acanthurus achilles (species)→ Acanthurus (genus) → Acanthuridae (family) → Herbivore (trophic group)
Trophic groupings (e.g., planktivores, piscivores, herbivores) are used for functional diversity and fisheries impact analyses.
When only genus or family is reported, MERMAID uses genus/family-level values from FishBase to compute averaged constants (e.g., for biomass estimation).
Benthic Hierarchy
MERMAID uses a similar structure for benthic attributes:
Species → Genus → Family → Top-Level Category
e.g., Acropora palmata (species) → Acropora (genus) → Acroporidae (family) → Hard coral (top-level category)
The 12 top-level benthic categories used in MERMAID are:
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These categories are used to calculate benthic cover composition across sites and projects.
Why This Matters for Your Data
These hierarchies are essential for calculating key reef health metrics such as:
Benthic percent cover
Fish biomass (kg/ha) by family and trophic group
By automatically grouping observations from species to broader ecological categories, MERMAID allows users to generate these metrics even when observations are reported at different taxonomic levels (e.g., genus or family instead of species).
Summary
All fish and benthic taxonomy in MERMAID is validated through WoRMS.
Fish data are dynamically retrieved from FishBase, including biomass and ecological traits.
Propose new species or attributes easily in-app, with validation support.
Use the reference file to explore, filter, and better understand taxonomic groupings.
MERMAID’s standardized taxonomy structure simplifies analysis and supports reproducible science.