How to know your worms: A workshop run by AM worm wizards

Australian Museum Research Institute researchers ran a two-day workshop (11–12 March 2025) at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, aimed to provide the skills required to recognise Australian polychaete families.

Polychaetes play a major role in marine ecosystem functioning, as they dominate marine benthic habitats both in terms of abundance and richness. However, accurate identification, even to the family level, remains a formidable challenge and is a significant barrier to undertaking environmental assessment studies of Australian benthic habitats.

To help alleviate this problem, an interactive key to polychaetes (POLiKEY) was developed at the Australian Museum. This digital key released as a CD in 2003 was an important information system for polychaete families and higher taxa. It contained 104 polychaete taxa, comprising 17 higher-level taxa, 82 families and five subfamily groups. However, 20 years later a major update was needed. This was why in 2019 we applied for an ABRS grant to update POLiKEY and to develop a new digital tool, ANNiKEY. The new key was accompanied by a new online illustrated glossary.

As a test run, on 11–12 March 2025 we ran the first identification workshop using ANNiKEY. The workshop took place at Sydney Institute of Marine Science (SIMS), Chowder Bay, Sydney. There were 24 participants, including postgraduate students, researchers and environmental consultants from NSW, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia. Preserved specimens (34 species belonging to 25 families) were borrowed from AM and provided to practise identifications. Participants were asked to install Delta Intkey interactive identification software and were provided with the most recent copy of ANNiKEY and a link to the online glossary. To illustrate annelids alive, on Monday 10th March during low tide, four of us went to Balmoral Beach to collect them. The animals were transported to SIMS and left in the Marine Aquarium overnight.

On Tuesday 11 March the workshop started with Dr Chris Glasby giving a presentation about POLiKEY and ANNiKEY and a brief overview of where Polychaeta fits among Annelida. Another presentation by Chris focussed on diagnostic characters of the common families. Dr Pat Hutchings gave a talk about polychaete collecting and preservation. Participants practiced identification of polychaetes to the family level using ANNiKEY. More conversations took place over morning and afternoon coffee and lunch on the balcony looking out over the harbour. We examined and photographed the live specimens collected from Balmoral. These worms were fixed at the end of the second day in 95% alcohol and will be incorporated into AM Marine Invertebrate Collection.

On Wednesday 12 March, Anna Murray demonstrated how to examine chaetae of polychaetes, which requires the preparation of slides and examination under a compound microscope. Dr Elena Kupriyanova gave 2 talks on the Order Sabellida and on the life history of polychaetes.

We hope that all the attendees now have a better understanding of the diversity of polychaetes and the tools available for their identification, as well as an awareness of the polychaete resources at the Australian Museum.