Stay up to date on news and features about aquatic habitat mapping with BioBase
Author: biobasemaps
BioBase is a cloud platform for the automated mapping of aquatic habitats (lakes, rivers, ponds, coasts). Standard algorithms process sonar datafiles (EcoSound Product). 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.
Mapping is Managing Part 2: Water Resource Management
Continuing our exploration in the “Mapping is Managing” series, we turn our attention to the the pricelessness of freshwater and the pivotal role mapping plays in ensuring its effective management.
Reservoirs and Conduits of Freshwater
Lakes and other natural and artificial waterways, beyond their scenic beauty and ecological importance, function as vital reservoirs of freshwater. Their significance extends far beyond providing postcard-perfect landscapes; they are lifelines for communities, supporting diverse needs such as drinking water, irrigation, and industrial processes. The challenge lies in managing this precious resource efficiently. The Central Arizona Project demonstrates a perfect example of how rapid mapping with BioBase technology helps deliver life-blood water to a city in the desert of Arizona
BioBase has become famous for its capability to easily map almost any type of waterbody with very little know-how and hardly any equipment. One of the applications that strikes at the core of any explorer is literally mapping uncharted waters. There should be no reason now why we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the globe’s underwater environments!
Mapping is Managing: The Power of BioBase in Environmental Stewardship
At the heart of environmental conservation lies the principle that effective management starts with accurate mapping. BioBase is at the forefront of this movement, providing cutting-edge solutions for various ecological challenges. Let’s dive into the critical use cases of BioBase.
BioBase generates great detailed maps of aquatic habitat on the fly, but did you know that we can generate a professional, publication quality map for your project or clients? Further, if available we can add other GIS layers and create custom maps like Sediment Thickness. Our turnaround time is freaky fast too! Check out the gallery of images below. You can learn more about it and fill out a purchase request at https://www.biobasemaps.com/Solutions/GisServices or just contact us
(b) BioBase Ambassador, Certified Lake Manager, and President of LakeTech Inc.
The term “Fit for Purpose” has recently become a popular term in our circles in the context of mapping and surveying water bodies, and it refers to utilizing the appropriate equipment, methods, and budget for the task at hand.
This principle acknowledges that one type of equipment and method may not be suitable for every scenario. For instance, whether you’re assessing the storage volume of municipal stormwater ponds or maintaining a river channel for commercial navigation, the required level of accuracy will and should be different. While high accuracy and precision may be crucial for certain projects, it might not be necessary for others.
The automated cloud mapping platform for waterbodies, BioBase (biobasemaps.com), has recently undergone a change in ownership. Formerly under the Navico Group, a division of the Brunswick Corporation, BioBase has now been acquired by an independent group of investors. In the short term, users can expect minimal changes to the platform, and the development team will continue its operations from St. Paul, MN, USA.
Aquatic resource professionals have the option to subscribe to various plans and utilize the platform to process Lowrance® or Simrad® Sonar Logs in the cloud, generating detailed aquatic maps and GIS datasets. Looking ahead, this transition is expected to pave the way for enhancements in the platform’s capabilities and a quicker development cycle. These enhancements will include the ability to process sonar files of multiple formats and create additional map and data layers valuable to water and fisheries professionals.
“The team is enthusiastic about this new chapter and is eager to solidify BioBase as the premier solution for automated mapping derived from sonar files. Whether it’s mapping depth, aquatic vegetation, or bottom composition, we’re committed to delivering high value maps and datasets with minimal effort. This allows aquatic and fisheries professionals to focus on the important work of aquatic management and conservation and not making a map” stated BioBase President and Product Expert, Ray Valley.
Stay informed about important updates by following us here on this blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram. For inquiries, please reach out to us at info@biobasemaps.com.
As BioBase has grown through the years, Natural Resource Agencies, Researchers, and Lake Managers have mapped millions of acres of water and aquatic habitats benefitting conservation. But Million’s of acres means millions of files and terabytes of data. BioBase is a great solution for storing, browsing, and analyzing these data, but until now users did not have a way to bulk export processed files. The initial release of the feature will allow users to bulk export .csv data files, Google Earth .kmz for all layers, and Vegetation Analysis Reports from January 1st 2018 through their most recently uploaded trip/merge for all trips and merges within a waterbody for a user or organization. It’s important to note that already existing export features on a trip by trip basis within the trip viewer (e.g., Tools – Export Data) has not changed. The export links and data will remain active and available for 30 days. After 30 days, exports will be deleted from BioBase servers and users will need to make another request if they wish to download the files again at a later date.
Feature extracts a .zip file with the Lake Name, a Waterbody ID, and the date YYYYMMDD of the request. Contents in the zip file include other zip files and include sonar file names, Trip ID’s, and other information that should be intuitive for users
Professional Spotlight – Studying Arctic Charr Habitat in Maine
Greg Kronisch is a PhD student studying the movement ecology and diet of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in Maine. These cold-water relatives of brook trout and salmon are found in North America, Europe, and Asia. Throughout their range Arctic charr exhibit a great diversity of size, body shape, and behavior in association with different habitats and diets. While anadromous (sea-running) populations are common in Canada, Alaska, and Europe, their range in the contiguous United States has receded over the past half a century to now only 12 native land-locked populations in Maine. Greg is advised by Dr. Nathan Furey at the University of New Hampshire, Drs. Michael Kinnison and Christina Murphy at the University of Maine on a National Science foundation project to evaluate Arctic charr diversity and ecology in the context of climate change.
An Arctic charr from Floods Pond, Maine being measured and photographed in April 2023. Each fish also receives a unique subdermal tag and a small tissue sample is taken for genetic analysis
Greg is continuing a 20-year project at UMaine that focuses on studying the Arctic charr in Floods Pond near Bangor, Maine which is one of the most southern populations in North America, putting them at risk from warming and species invasions. This population is among the healthiest and well-studied in Maine due in part to strict regulation of Floods Pond as the water supply for the city of Bangor. The long-term dataset on fish morphology, spawning behavior, and population size, and well-maintained access roads makes this the best lake to study Arctic charr in Maine.
Floods Pond Research StationFloods Pond
A major part of this research relates to the movement and habitat use of Arctic charr using acoustic telemetry. For this work, fish are anesthetized and a special electronic tag is surgically implanted into the fish’s abdominal cavity. This tag then sends out a transmission every 1-3 minutes to receiving stations throughout the pond, providing information on fish location, depth, and body temperature. The advantage of this method is that the tagged fish only needs to be handled once, but analysis of these detections can produce up to 1,000 position estimates per fish each day (or 525,000 annually).
Diagram of acoustic telemetry. Each transmission (red) is picked up by the receivers (black tubes attached to mooring). Millisecond differences in transmission recording times can be used to calculate high-precision estimates of position.
Initial testing of the receiving stations in April revealed that some receivers were unable to properly communicate, suggesting there might be issues with underwater obstructions. Because of this, Greg needed detailed information of lake depths and structures to set up his telemetry stations in locations that would avoid communication issues and “dead zones” associated with underwater reefs, holes, and large glacial boulders. Additionally, the habitat use of the tagged Arctic charr needs to be informed by an understanding of the lake morphology and available habitats. BioBase quickly come to the rescue for both needs!
An in-progress update of the Floods Pond bathymetry as seen on the BioBase social map.
Greg is leveraging the power of BioBase to stitch together side-scan sonar mosaics showing boulder fields and substrate types and has made great strides re-mapping the bathymetry of Floods Pond. Historically available maps of Floods, mostly based on fewer than 100 depth soundings taken with handlines in 1942, have turned out to be inaccurate in many locations. Once the lake is fully mapped, charr position estimates from the acoustic telemetry array will be used in conjunction with lake bathymetry and substrate hardness layers to better understand seasonal habitat use and spawning behavior of this state species of special conservation concern. Over the next few years Greg plans to map other Maine lakes to understand habitat available to other relic Arctic charr populations and to create habitat suitability models for lakes that do not currently have Arctic charr.
Side Scan mosaic of Floods Pond
When asked how Greg would use the side-scan mosaic he said “I use these implanted tags and receivers to triangulate the fish’s positions every few minutes, but this isn’t terribly informative without also having habitat information. I’m using the physical lake data synthesized in BioBase to find if they trend toward certain substrate/bouldery areas, if they may use secondary deepwater spawning areas, where they are in the water column (ie fish depth vs bathymetry of that area), and how these may change seasonally.”
Close up of Arctic Charr habitat on Side-Scan mosaicGreg releasing a tagged Arctic charr back into Floods Pond
For more information about BioBase or other professionals using BioBase like Eli Kersh and LakeTech or completewaters check out other professional spotlight blog posts. Or for more information on the NSF and other research being done click the link. You can find more on Greg at his Grad Page or the Lab Website.
A frequently asked question of BioBase users is how do you ensure proper coverage of a water body you want to map? Some years ago we published a blog on the topic of aquatic mapping strategies and transect design that is still very relevant today. Here we focus our attention on some practical tips and tricks that takes theory into practice and gives you guides or lines to follow on your Lowrance Chart. Note that we won’t walk you through every screenshot or setting, but rather point you to the key tools and features that will get you started. We do publish more in depth tutorials on biobasemaps.com/supportresources. This isn’t an exhaustive list, so please share additional tips and tricks in the comments!
An update to the BioBase sonar file reader released in Feb 2021 included an update that allows the user to select which sonar channel they’d like to process (Primary or Downscan) for vegetation. We call the broadband, traditional sonar channel “Primary” which includes the recommended frequency 200 khz. Most Lowrance transducers have this frequency. If the user selects the .sl2 or .sl3 file format and they have a Downscan-compatible transducer, the file will also include the Downscan channel. Downscan differs from the Primary channel in the size and orientation of the soundwave beam (Figure 1).
