Author: biobasemaps

BioBase is a cloud platform for the automated mapping of aquatic habitats (lakes, rivers, ponds, coasts). Standard algorithms process sonar datafiles (EcoSound) and high resolution satellite imagery (EcoSat). Depth and vegetation maps and data reports are rapidly created and stored in a private cloud account for analysis, and sharing. This blog highlights a range of internal and external research, frequently asked questions, feature descriptions and highlights, tips and tricks, and photo galleries.

New BioBase Website including new DIY GIS tutorials

We’re excited to announce the launch of the new biobasemaps.com website! You’ll find an image-rich professional look and feel as well as information segmentation into solutions and features that speak directly to the markets we serve (Aquatic Plants, Fisheries, Water Resources, Private Ponds, Coastal).

New visitors to biobasemaps.com will also see more information about our optional GIS Services that can take your BioBase maps and tailor them to your precise needs regarding image size, contour interval, custom legend, logos, etc.

GISServices_EMULAKE200DPI — Sample custom map created by our GIS staff from BioBase EcoSound outputs.

Dabbling in GIS? We can help you get started in QGIS

Many of you also come to us with questions about how to do more with your BioBase outputs (e.g., custom contouring, water volume calculations, spatial data analyses). To empower you to fully leverage the potential of BioBase outputs we have prepared several step-by-step QGIS tutorials to get you the outputs you require for your work. See our Support Resources page for these tutorials along with other useful self help resources

Networking 3rd Party GPS/GNSS into Lowrance

Ray Valley

Aquatic Biologist and BioBase Product Expert

I frequently get inquiries from current and prospective BioBase users about the accuracy of consumer-grade Lowrance GPS and whether survey-grade 3rd party receivers capable of differential correction (DGPS) or receiving positions from multiple satellite constellations (Global Navigation Satellite System – GNSS) could be used with Lowrance and processed with BioBase.

The first question about accuracy prompted a test in March of 2013 with a Lowrance HDS tested side-by-side with a Trimble GeoXH. I was pleased to find less than 1m deviation on average from post-processed Trimble DGPS positions. One meter accuracy and precision is typically sufficient for most boat-based mapping applications. Still, prerequisites for some projects require DGPS, and there are a number of BioBase users who have and still would prefer to have DGPS generated positions to use when logging trips. Thus, I was interested in exploring the capabilities of networking positions from a third-party receiver into a Lowrance HDS.

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Mapping Hidden Channels with Genesis Live

River channel thalwegs (the line of lowest elevation within a valley or watercourse) are often dynamic, and sometimes hidden features of large river systems. Especially low slope or impounded systems. The thalweg is a critical geomorphological feature of river and reservoir systems and affects everything from sediment transport, to fisheries habitat, to algae or invasive plant control.

Thus a good bathymetric contour map is a necessary pre-requisite for effective river and reservoir management. Here, we walk you through how to use new real time technologies (C-MAP’s Genesis Live) to produce smooth, precise, and accurate maps of hidden river thalwegs all within one trip to the site and with automated post-processing with BioBase’s EcoSound. We’ll use an annotated image gallery to take you through this process.

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Utilization of a Web-Based Mapping Interface to Enhance Inland Fisheries Management Strategies in Texas

A. Adams, M. De Jesus, G. Cummings, and M. Farooqi

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Inland Fisheries

Abstract:

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Inland Fisheries (TPWD IF) biologists traditionally use “stand-alone” mapping interfaces to generate 2-dimensional (2-D) aerial outputs of fish habitat and benthic surveys of aquatic systems. Preliminary work has shown promise in the use of a different method, which generates interactive 3-dimensional (3-D) high-definition (HD) outputs. During field surveys, a Lowrance© Elite 9Ti GPS unit with TotalScan™ transducer was used to generate data points along boat transects on waterbodies of interest. A waterbody “Vegetation Analysis Report” and HD maps were then generated from these data using web-based mapping algorithms through BioBase©, and ArcMap 10.3© GIS software. Aquatic vegetation biovolume, bathymetric mapping, and benthic substrate composition outputs, produced by BioBase© aided biologists in selecting best management strategies, regarding aquatic vegetation management and angler access development at three central Texas impoundments. This tool can prove valuable to fisheries managers needing a higher resolution of survey results to fine-tune management strategies. At a cost of $2,500¹ US for a yearlong subscription, cost-benefit would have to be assessed by individual users, based on their needs.

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BioBase is now Metric compatible!

Ok. It’s long overdue. But, better late than never! Much to the delight of non-US users, now you can choose whether BioBase EcoSound outputs are in metric or imperial units.

AccountPage_Screenshot — Click on “My Account” to select the desired units.

ShobyLake — Metric output contoured in 0.5 m intervals. Contour detail is autodecluttered based on your zoom level in BioBase.

Wish to change units of an already processed map?

If you processed a trip with one unit setting and wish to recontour the map in a different unit, simply change the unit in our Account Profile and then go back to the trip of interest and reprocess

TripReprocessing — After selecting a new unit, reprocess the map to contour in the new units

Training EcoSat Vegetation Classifications: User tips

What is EcoSat?
EcoSat delivers a one-of-it’s-kind semi-automated cloud processing of very high resolution satellite imagery to map nearshore vegetation and coastal benthic habitats. EcoSat uses the latest multi-spectral imagery from reputable providers such as Digital Globe (World View 2,3 and 4), Airbus Defence and Space (Pleiades), and ESA’s Sentinel program and industry standard image processing techniques. Sophisticated Amazon Web Service cloud infrastructure rapidly processes imagery, creates reports and imagery tiles, and delivers detailed habitat maps to user’s BioBase dashboard where it can be analyzed and shared. Average turnaround time from imagery tasking order to delivery of results is 60 days. The rapid and standard processing methods are allowing entities like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to establish regular monitoring programs for emergent vegetation. The extremely long and expensive one-off nature of conventional remote sensing mapping projects using non-repeatable tailored techniques has prevented natural resource entities from assessing the degree that habitats are changing as a result of environmental stressors such as invasive species invasions and climate change.

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BioBase Paper Published: Estimation of paddlefish (Polyodon spathula Walbaum, 1792) spawning habitat availability with consumer-grade sonar.

We’re excited to see another publication demonstrating another novel use of BioBase EcoSound technology for Fisheries Science. For a complete list of pubs see here. Contact us to get a copy of any of these publications

Estimation of paddlefish (Polyodon spathula Walbaum, 1792) spawning habitat availability with consumer-grade sonar

Jason D. Schooley

Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation

Ben C. Neely

Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism

Journal of Applied Icthyology 2017

Summary

The paddlefish (Polyodon spathula Walbaum, 1792) is a springtime migrant that requires discrete abiotic conditions such as water temperature, discharge, and substrate composition for successful spawning and recruitment. Although population declines have prevailed throughout much of the species range, Oklahoma paddlefish are abundant and support popular recreational snag fisheries – most notably in Grand Lake. This stock utilizes the Grand Lake’s two primary headwaters, the Neosho and Spring rivers, with only episodic recruitment success. However, relationships between suitable spawning habitat and water level have not been evaluated in this system. Using consumer-grade sonar equipment, this study identified and quantified hard river substrates (such as cobble and bedrock) and investigated proportional habitat availability at a variety of simulated river conditions. Sonar data were used to construct 49-m2 grids of depth and bottom hardness (H) ranging from 0.0 (soft) -0.5 (hard). Ground-truthing samples of bottom composition were collected with a grab sampler and by visual identification. Substrate types were pooled into two categories: soft substrates (H < 0.386) and spawning substrates (H ≥ 0.386) allowing for estimation of available spawning habitat in each river. Spawning habitat comprised 69% of total available habitat for the Neosho River (6.5 ha/km) and 58% for the Spring River (7.9 ha/km). Estimated spawning habitat was simulated over a range of river stages and predictive models were developed to estimate proportional spawning habitat availability (PHA). Although the Spring River contains more concentrated spawning habitat in closer proximity to Grand Lake, the Neosho River contains a greater quantity over nearly twice the distance to the first migration barrier, has a larger watershed, and demonstrates greater PHA at lower river stages. Model results were validated in context of known high and low recruitment years, where a greater frequency and duration of days with ≥90% PHA were observed in good recruitment years, particularly in the Neosho River. In total, results suggest the Neosho River has greater value for paddlefish reproduction than the Spring River. Research-informed harvest management will remain critical to the conservation of wild-recruiting stocks for continued recreational use in Oklahoma.

Average Neosho and Spring river substrate hardness index (H) for substrate classification groups across pooled methods (grab samples and visual samples). Cobble/Rock includes fine, medium, and coarse cobble pooled with bedrock. Substrates represented by H ≥ 0.386 were regarded as paddlefish spawning habitat. Sample size is noted at the base of each column and error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals

Schooley JD, Neely BC. Estimation of paddlefish (Polyodon spathula Walbaum, 1792) spawning habitat availability with consumer-grade sonar. J Appl Ichthyol. 2017;00:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1111/jai.13565

Guest Blog: Correlations between EcoSound Biovolume and Aquatic Plant Biomass

Andrew W. Howell and Dr. Robert J. Richardson

North Carolina State University; Dept. Crop and Soil Sciences

Why do we want to sample submersed vegetation biomass using sonar?

Invasive aquatic plants, such as non-native hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata), negatively impact waterway systems in the southeastern United States and on a global scale. Often, these aquatic weed species impede recreational activities, power generation, and disrupt native ecological systems. Costs associated with aquatic weed management include expenses accompanied with monitoring, mapping, and implementing control measures. Prompt detection and accurate mapping of submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV) are critical components when formulating management decisions and practices. Therefore, SAV management protocols are often reliant upon the perceived extent of invasion. Traditional biomass sampling techniques have been widely utilized, but often require significant labor inputs, which limits repeatability, the scale of sampling, and the rapidness of processing. Advances in consumer available hydroacoustic technology (sonar) and data post-processing offer the opportunity to estimate SAV biomass at scale with reduced labor and economic requirements.

The objectives of this research were to document the use of an off-the-shelf consumer sonar/gps chartplotter to: 1) describe and characterize a relationship between hydroacoustic biovolume signature to measured hydrilla biomass; 2) develop algorithm for on-the-fly assessment of hydrilla biomass from interpolated biovolume records; 3) define seasonal hydrilla growth patterns at two NC piedmont reservoirs; and 4) create a visual representation of SAV development over time. From these objectives, the expected outcome was to describe a protocol for passive data collection while reducing the economic inputs associated with labor efforts involved in biomass sampling and post-processing evaluations. In our research, a Lowrance HDS-7 Gen2 was utilized to correlate biomass from monospecific stands of hydrilla within two different North Carolina piedmont reservoirs using BioBase 5.2 (now marketed as EcoSound – www.biobasemaps.com), cloud-based algorithm to aid in post-processing.

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Building on the Power of the BioBase Cloud Mapping Platform, New Product Generates Full Inventories of Shallow Water Habitats

C-MAP^®, a leading supplier of digital navigation products to the maritime market, in partnership with a global leader in remote sensing services, EOMAP GmbH & Co KG, announced today the launch of EcoSat.

A new semi-automated wetland and coastal habitat mapping product that is part of the BioBase Cloud Mapping Platform, EcoSat uses the unique reflectance properties of vegetation and sea bottoms from high resolution satellite imagery and creates distinct polygon objects with spatial properties like area and perimeter. EcoSat’s power is doubled when combined with its sister product EcoSound which uses sonar and GPS data files to map depth and submerged vegetation. EcoSat complements BioBase’s core functionality of submerged habitat mapping with sonar with new capabilities to inventory habitats in vast nearshore areas of aquatic environments. Aquatic habitat managers across the globe can use EcoSat to quickly assess and monitor changes in wetland complexes, shallow lakes, tidal estuaries and marshes, and benthic habitats. EcoSat will also be an invaluable tool for the assessment and monitoring of invasive aquatic plants. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) is currently using EcoSat and EcoSound to generate full aquatic vegetation inventories in high profile Florida lakes.

“The combination of the latest habitat image classification procedures and the high-performance of the BioBase Cloud environment brings significant benefits to all users that don’t have access to large data processing capacities,” said Marcus Bindel, EOMAP data analyst.

Leveraging the expertise of a team of remote sensing experts at EOMAP, EcoSat rapidly processes raw satellite imagery and creates unique habitat classifications (e.g., polygons in a shapefile). Shapefiles and raw imagery – that are often hundreds of megabytes – are uploaded and processed by BioBase’s powerful cloud-based servers. Shapefiles and imagery are stored in a user’s or organization’s private online account for easy access and sharing. BioBase customers can interact with these detailed EcoSat files simply with any internet-enabled device. Users can also export custom charts of the EcoSat classifications to their Lowrance or Simrad chartplotter and navigate directly to a habitat of interest.

“BioBase is a first-of-its-kind, off-the-shelf cloud solution for organizations and businesses that need full aquatic habitat inventories quickly,” said Greg Konig, head of product development, C-MAP. “Prior to BioBase automated mapping technologies, aquatic managers and researchers would spend countless hours at high costs just to produce a map. But not anymore.”

For more information on C-MAP Light Marine and Commercial products, visit www.c-map.com. For more information about EcoSat and the BioBase Cloud Mapping Platform, visit www.cibiobase.com.

About C-MAP:

C-MAP is a world-leading provider of marine information with products ranging from electronic navigational charts to fleet management, vessel and voyage optimization. C-MAP offers the world’s largest marine navigation digital chart database, helping customers to address the complexity of maritime operations through integrated, intelligent information systems. For more information, visit www.c-map.com.

Processed polygons of emergent vegetation beds in Lake Tohopekaliga, FLfrom high resolution satellite imagery combined with submerged vegetation mapped with BioBase – EcoSound

Download automatically created Lowrance or Simrad Chart files from EcoSat and verify classifications directly from your watercraft

Interpreting bottom hardness in shallow lakes and ponds: digging deeper into the data

BioBase’s EcoSound bottom composition (hardness) algorithm has become quite popular for researchers and lake/pond managers to determine where sedimentation from the watershed may be occurring. However, interpreting sonar returns in shallow environments (e.g., less than 7 ft or 2 m) with off-the-shelf sonar is challenging, especially if aquatic vegetation is present. Each situation is different and the objective of this blog is to inform you of how to interpret your EcoSound map in situations when you encounter counter intuitive bottom hardness results.

Here are some high level points to remember.

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