Atlantic Estuarine Fish Habitat (Southeast Blueprint Indicator) [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] Full Details

Full Details

Title:

Atlantic Estuarine Fish Habitat (Southeast Blueprint Indicator) [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service]

Description:

Reason for Selection This indicator captures many factors influencing Atlantic estuarine fish habitat quality and promotes consistency with the priorities of the Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership. Estuarine habitat provides critical food resources and serves as a refuge from predators for many recreational and commercial fish, crabs and small animals (Naturally Resilient Communities 2017). Submerged aquatic vegetation in coastal and estuarine ecosystems is a food source for waterfowl and, along with marsh edges and seagrass, serves as important nursery habitat for many species (Dennison et al. 1993). Oyster reefs and beds also help to improve surrounding water quality, buffer coasts from waves, and reduce erosion (Naturally Resilient Communities 2017). Input Data Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) Fish Habitat Conservation Area Mapping and Prioritization Project: South Atlantic, Mid-Atlantic, and South Florida Estuarine Analysis Base Blueprint 2022 extent Southeast Blueprint 2023 extent Mapping Steps Convert the South Atlantic Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the FINALSCORE field. Convert the Mid-Atlantic Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the TotalPoints field. Convert the South Florida Estuarine Analysis from vector to a 30 m raster using the FINALSCORE field. Combine the above rasters using the ArcPy Spatial Analyst Cell Statistics "MAX" function. Reclassify the above raster into 9 classes, seen in the final indicator values below. Clip to the spatial extent of Base Blueprint 2022. As a final step, clip to the spatial extent of Southeast Blueprint 2023. Note: For more details on the mapping steps, code used to create this layer is available in theSoutheast Blueprint Data Downloadunder > 6_Code. Final indicator values Indicator values are assigned as follows: 8 = Final score of 80 (areas of excellent fish habitat) 7 = Final score of 70 (areas of excellent fish habitat) 6 = Final score of 60 (restoration opportunity areas) 5 = Final score of 50 (restoration opportunity areas) 4 = Final score of 40 (restoration opportunity areas) 3 = Final score of 30 (restoration opportunity areas) 2 = Final score of 20 (restoration opportunity areas) 1 = Final score of 10 (degraded areas of opportunity) 0 = Final score of 0 (degraded areas of opportunity) Known IssuesThis indicator underestimates scores in parts of Georgia and North Florida that weren't well-surveyed for oyster reefs at the time of the ACFHP assessment.Disclaimer: Comparing with Older Indicator VersionsThere are numerous problems with using Southeast Blueprint indicators for change analysis. Please consult Blueprint staff if you would like to do this (emailhilary_morris@fws.gov).Literature Cited Dennison, William C., Robert J. Orth, Kenneth A. Moore, J. Court Stevenson, Virginia Carter, Stan Kollar, Peter W. Bergstrom, Richard A. Batiuk, Assessing Water Quality with Submersed Aquatic Vegetation: Habitat requirements as barometers of Chesapeake Bay health, BioScience, Volume 43, Issue 2, February 1993, Pages 86-94, [https://doi.org/10.2307/1311969]. Martin, Erik, Kat Hoenke, and Lisa Havel. Atlantic Coast Fish Habitat Partnership. Fish Habitat Conservation Area Mapping and Prioritization Project: A Prioritization of Atlantic Coastal, Estuarine, and Diadromous Fish Habitats for Conservation. August 2020. [https://www.atlanticfishhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/ACFHP-Mapping-and-Prioritization-Final-Report.pdf]. Naturally Resilient Communities. 2017. Solution: Oyster Reefs. [https://nrcsolutions.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/NRC_Solutions_Oyster_Reefs.pdf].

Creator:

Department of the Interior

Provider:

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Open Data

Resource Class:

Imagery and Web services

Resource Type:

Raster data

Temporal Coverage:

Last modified 2024-10-09

Date Issued:

2023-09-20

Place:

United States

Rights:

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. While the Service makes every reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy and completeness of data provided for distribution, it may not have the necessary accuracy or completeness required for every possible intended use. The Service recommends that data users consult the associated metadata record to understand the quality and possible limitations of the data. The Service creates metadata records in accordance with the standards endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee. As a result of the above considerations, the Service gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of the data. It is the responsibility of the data user to use the data in a manner consistent with the limitations of geospatial data in general and these data in particular. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the Service, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding the utility of the data on another system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. This applies to the use of the data both alone and in aggregate with other data and information.

Access Rights:

Public

Format:

Imagery

Language:

English

Date Added:

2023-10-17