Lake Harriet Monitoring Before and After Harvester. . .
A multitude of factors impact the health of aquatic systems creating a need to monitor lakes’ “vital signs”. In the same way it is expected that a medical doctor will do more than glance at a patient and say: “you look fine” the same is needed for our lakes. A number of different vital signs are necessary to give a precise assessment of human health and our aquatic systems are no different, they are complex biological systems. ciBioBase provides many “unchecked” parameters that have not been assessed until now in an automated processing system. Two trips on a small section of Lake Harriet in Minneapolis collecting “vital signs data” have already told a story about big changes in the aquatic community. What more can we learn about this complex ecosystem by simply monitoring with ciBioBase on an ongoing basis?
A data collection trip with ciBioBase in late June on Lake Harriet revealed what you might expect from an unseasonably warm spring in a lake infested with Eurasian watermilfoil(EWM). Aquatic plant growth was several weeks ahead of schedule with EWM dominating the sample area on north shore and already being matted on the surface. The majority of near-shore areas sampled exhibited near 100 % EWM biovolume (% water column occupied). In fact, in the far east and west reaches of the sample area our survey-boat was skirting matted EWM too dense to navigate through. Wherever vegetation occurred (percent area coverage) on the June 18th survey the biovolume average was very high, due to it being composed primarily of EWM (average of 54.4%).
BEFORE:
In late August a comparison trip was completed, navigating the same transect line from the June trip using ciBioBase following the Lowrance HDS track overlay on the unit. A striking feature noticed shortly after getting on the water was…..Where was all the topped-out vegetation? The transect sampled on June 18th skirted topped-out EWM, but on August 22nd no topped-out vegetation occurred in the same sampling area. This excerpt from the Star Tribune written by Bill McAuliffe on June 10th explains: “The Minneapolis Park Board’s milfoil harvest began with a single mower. . The harvesting each year generally requires at least two passes through each lake. Cedar Lake was scheduled for mowing Friday. After that, Lake Harriet is on the schedule.” (View the article by clicking here). That would explain the drop in average biovolume in vegetated areas from 54.4% to 16% and overall average biovolume for the entire sampled area from 28.3 to 5.1%.
AFTER:
*Automated Reports Generated for Each Trip Uploaded to ciBioBase
ciBioBase not only displays that the average biovolume in vegetated areas for this study site dropped from 54.4% to 16% and overall average biovolume for the entire sampled area from 28.3 to 5.1%, but it also outlines vegetation distribution. Spatial characteristics such as the shift from about 30% of the sampled area having a biovolume of >80% to 0.34% of the sampled area having a biovolume >80% after the EWM harvest are also a part of the ciBioBase data output.
ciBioBase has enabled users to precisely compare changes in biovolume and spatial distribution of vegetation; pinpointing changes and quantifying their outputs. This means precision monitoring and management using quantifiable target goals while leveraging objective “before and after” monitoring data that is easily collected, processed, and viewed with the ciBioBase system.
Knowing precisely “where and how much” are critical components to knowing if management plans are effective. Another excerpt from Bill McAuliffe’s Star Tribune article states: “The Lake Minnetonka Conservation District launched its two mowers Thursday, about on schedule because it uses school teachers to run them, said Judd Harper, who manages the district’s milfoil removal. But weed growth on the lake is “a lot worse than it was last year,” Harper said.” ciBioBase provides numbers behind “a lot worse”.
Using the ciBioBase system and historical database comparison, it is now possible to quantitatively identify year to year and other temporal trends. Managers can now implement corresponding management based on sound scientific data and quantitative metrics. ciBioBase is the key to precision management!
TRIP COMPARE FEATURE IN CIBIOBASE
* %BV (% of the water column filled with plants)
ANOTHER SHOT OF BAIT FISH PICKED UP BY STRUCTURE SCAN
ABOUT CIBIOBASE:
ciBioBase removes the time and labor required to create aquatic maps! The System was engineered to provide automated cloud based bathymetric and aquatic vegetation mapping and historical trend tools for aquatic habitat analysis. ciBioBase leverages log file formats recorded to SD cards using today’s Lowrance™ brand depth finders and chart plotters. Data you collect while on the water is uploaded to an online account where it is processed by our servers automatically! We rely on automation to make vegetation mapping cost effective by reducing the technical skills, staff, and hours to produce vegetation abundance maps from raw sonar collection. With the human element gone, you get accurate and objective mapping at lightening speeds! The result is a uniform and objective output all over the world!
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