Lakes with Aquatic Life Use Judgement (Based on Fish IBI) [Minnesota]
DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife - Section of Fisheries
·
2025
Full Details
Full Details
Title
Lakes with Aquatic Life Use Judgement (Based on Fish IBI) [Minnesota]
Description
This layer shows the <b>aquatic life use judgements</b> for MN lakes where fish index of biological integrity (IBI) monitoring has been completed. The judgement corresponding with the <u>most recent assessment year</u> for each lake is displayed; however, judgements for all assessment years are included in the layer (i.e., multiple records for each lake may exist and corresponding data can be found in the attribute table). An IBI is a biologically-based, multi-metric method for measuring the integrity of aquatic systems. Minnesota DNR Fisheries has developed four fish-based lake IBIs that incorporate fish data collected by various methods (trap nets, gill nets, shoreline seines, and backpack electrofishing units) into 8-15 metrics in three categories: species richness, community assemblage, and trophic composition. Each metric represents an aspect of the biological assemblage structure, function, or other measurable characteristic that changes in some predictable way with increased human-induced stress. Fish-based IBI scores respond to differences in land use patterns, trophic state, and aquatic vegetation. Individual fish-based IBI scores and metrics can be viewed at <a href="https://resources.gisdata.mn.gov/pub/gdrs/data/pub/us_mn_state_dnr/env_aquatic_life_use_judgement/metadata/../../env_ibi_lakes_fisheries/metadata/metadata.html" target=_blank><b>Lakes with DNR Fisheries IBI Scores</b></a>. Aquatic life use judgements are made for individual lakes on a rotation occurring approximately once every 10 years as part of Minnesota Pollution Agency’s watershed assessment process. The fish IBI is a tool used for assessing lake impairment as part of Minnesota's 303(d) <i>Impaired Waters</i> assessments. Aquatic life use judgements are added to this dataset annually. Stressor identification is then completed for lakes assessed as impaired or vulnerable (see <a href="https://resources.gisdata.mn.gov/pub/gdrs/data/pub/us_mn_state_dnr/env_aquatic_life_use_judgement/metadata/../../env_ibi_lakes_stressors/metadata/metadata.html" target=_blank><b>Stressors to Impaired or Vulnerable Lakes (Based on Fish IBI)</b></a> For more reference information, see <i>(Section 5: Attributes -- Detailed Citation)</i>., This layer provides a visual representation of aquatic life use judgements determined for Minnesota lakes where fish IBIs have been completed, and for the purposes of planning, mapping and spatial/temporal analysis. For each lake, the aquatic life use judgement for the most recent assessment year is displayed by color; judgements from previous assessment years can be accessed through the attribute table., Re-delineations and edits are frequent and occur as needed.
Creator
DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife - Section of Fisheries
DNR Division of Fish and Wildlife - Section of Fisheries (n.d.). Lakes with Aquatic Life Use Judgement (Based on Fish IBI) [Minnesota]. . https://gisdata.mn.gov/dataset/55f4e499-8a3d-4461-950c-45773239df41 (dataset)