Great Lakes Aquatic Gap
Project Number: 9KM47
Project Chief: Jana S. Stewart
Project Topics: aquatic species, biodiversity
Cooperators: U.S. Geological Survey, Biology Discipline
Period of Project: September 2001–September 2006
Website: Great Lakes Aquatic Gap
Problem
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An Aquatic Gap program is underway for the riverine systems of the Great Lakes Region to identify those aquatic species and communities that are not adequately represented in existing conservation areas. A pilot study to develop a coastal component for Aquatic Gap is also underway for the Great Lakes Region. The Great Lakes are the largest system of freshwater on earth and provide habitat for a wide variety of aquatic organisms unique to these systems. The aquatic biodiversity of the region is being threatened due to increased population growth from urban expansion, more intensive agricultural practices, continued logging and coastal zone shoreline destruction. The Aquatic Gap project seeks to identify the gaps in the conservation of aquatic biodiversity in the Great Lakes region.
Objectives
The objectives of this project are to: (1) build and maintain partnerships with interested stakeholders, (2) classify aquatic habitats in rivers, streams, and in selected coastal margins using regionally consistent methods, (3) develop aquatic biological databases at state and regional scales, (4) map the actual and predicted occurrence and distribution of fish and other aquatic species in streams and selected coastal habitats, (6) complete a Gap analysis of fish and selected aquatic invertebrate species, (7) serve these data and products on the Internet and on CD-ROM, and (8) analyze, synthesize, interpret, and publish results at statewide, lakewide, and basinwide scales.
Approach
Habitat characteristics and species occurrences are being compiled and modeled for riverine and near-shore coastal systems as part of the Great Lakes Aquatic Gap Project. Habitat data from both riverine and coastal studies are being used in conjunction with fish occurrence data to characterize the habitat, identify species-habitat relationships, and model expected species distributions. For riverine systems, habitat characteristics have been derived for 1:100,000 National Hydrography Data stream segments in MI, NY, OH, and WI using a Geographic Information System and are based on physical characteristics that describe stream geology, geomorphology, temperature, and flow. A spatially nested hierarchical framework has been developed to classify coastal habitat types and has been applied to near-shore coastal systems in two pilot areas, western Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario. Characteristics such as circulation, geology, wind and wave exposure, geomorphology, and temperature regime were combined to form coastal habitat units. All habitat characteristics and fish observations are geo-referenced and stored in a central relational database where information is linked to stream segments and coastal units. Results of analyses will be overlaid with land stewardship and other maps to identify gaps in the protection of these species and their habitats.
Progress
A central database has been developed to accommodate stream habitat characteristics, aquatic biota sample collections, and habitat affinity information for all Great Lakes GAP projects and is housed at the USGS Great Lakes Science Center. For riverine projects, streams have been attributed with habitat characteristics and regression models have been developed to predict stream temperature. Fish data have been acquired and loaded into the central database and sample locations have been linked to the hydrologic network. Initial exploration of modeling methods for fish-environment relations has begun. For near-shore coastal systems, a conceptual framework for identification and classification of coastal habitat types has been developed and applied to a pilot study area in western Lake Erie.
Plans
Ecological stream classifications will be finalized and a draft geospatial dataset of physical habitat attributes will be prepared for future publication. Presence/absence modeling will begin for all native and non-native established fish species in WI, MI, and NY streams, and abundance modeling will be undertaken for selected fish species.
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