How we prioritized Alaska's almost 1 million Lakes and Ponds for Aquatic Invasive Species Monitoring

Author: Marcus Geist, University of Alaska Anchorage

Video Presentation

Abstract

Invasive dreissenid mussels both quagga (Dreissena bugensis) and zebra (Dreissena polymorpha) have drastically impacted freshwater ecosystems and economies across many US states and Canadian provinces. Fortunately, dreissenids have not been discovered in Alaska to date and a partnership has assembled to fend off these invaders. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) aquatic invasive species programs needed a tool to prioritize monitoring among Alaska's nearly one million lakes and ponds. Agency managers had been referencing many different web maps and data portals and sought a comprehensive, "one stop, shop" for information about Alaska's waterbodies. The Alaska Center for Conservation Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage has created a public, multi-function web map to display lake vulnerability and prioritize sampling efforts collecting water quality data to characterize habitat suitability and monitoring for mussel veligers as well as benthic sampling. Each lake is attributed with a suite of factors from multiple agencies. Web map users can filter lakes by road access, boat launches, floatplane use, hydrologic connectivity, elodea, non-native pike presence, ADF&G fish stocking, and known fish species. Additionally, the project team adapted an ArcGIS Survey 123 mobile application to collect standardized monitoring data that automatically populates a layer on the web map when returning from the field. This approach allows other partners such as Soil and Water Conservation Districts, local watershed groups, and Alaska Native groups to join ADF&G and USFWS in a coordinated monitoring effort. This talk will introduce and demonstrate these geospatial tools that partners can use to prioritize and track aquatic invasive species monitoring efforts across Alaska. Similar compilations of disparate data from multiple agencies could be created to inform other aspects of Alaskan water resource management.

Citation

Please use the following citation when citing this presentation: