DISL-MBNEP-SAV2015-001-2016 English DISL-MBNEP-SAV2015-000-2016 Mimi Tzeng DISL Data Management Data Management Specialist 101 Bienville Boulevard Dauphin Island AL 36528 metadata@disl.org 2016-08-25 ISO 19115:2003/19139 1.0 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation of Coastal Alabama - GPS Field Points Data (MBNEP Survey 2015) 2016-07-01 This data set consists of GPS point data documenting the location, species composition, and other habitat characteristics of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in coastal Alabama, collected as part of a remote sensing investigation of SAV distribution using summer and fall 2015 ortho imagery as base maps. Survey areas include Mississippi Sound, Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Little Lagoon, Bay La Launch, Perdido Bay, and their communicating tributaries. SAV was concentrated in upper Mobile Bay and the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, Mississippi Sound, and the Perdido Key area of southeast Baldwin County. A total of 1,243 field points were assessed in 2015. Additional locations that were not inspected during 2015 were visited in the late spring and early summer of 2016. These areas included locations in East Fowl River, West Fowl River, Halls Mill Creek, Rabbit Creek, Fish River, Magnolia River, Bon Secour River, and lower Perdido Bay. In total, point data for the summer and fall 2015 mapping effort were collected at 1,437 locations. Overall, there were 3,875.6 more acres mapped in 2015 than in the 2009 MBNEP survey, mostly due to a 2,454.7-ac increase in the Bridgehead Quadrangle and a 511.4-ac increase in the Mobile Quadrangle. The intended use of this data set is to provide an assessment of the status and trends of the distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation along the Alabama Coast in 2015. Roberta Swann Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Director 251-431-6409 118 North Royal Street Suite 601 Mobile Alabama 36602 mbnep@mobilebaynep.com Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc. 8060 Cottage Hill Road Mobile AL 36695 submerged aquatic vegetation SAV species composition coastal habitats Dauphin Island Sea Lab DISL Mobile Bay National Estuary Program MBNEP Alabama Mobile County Baldwin County Mobile Bay Mobile Tensaw Delta Mississippi Sound Perdido Bay Little Lagoon Bay La Launch East Fowl River West Fowl River Halls Mill Creek Rabbit Creek Fish River Magnolia River Bon Secour River Acknowledgment of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), Mobile National Estuary Program (MBNEP), Alabama DCNR State Lands Division - Coastal Section, and Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc. is required in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of these data. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. The distributor shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of these data, based on the description of appropriate/inappropriate uses described in the metadata document. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such. Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Mapping in Mobile Bay and Adjacent Waters of Coastal Alabama in 2015 2016 Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc. Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Mobile Alabama USA http://www.mobilebaynep.com/images/uploads/library/SAV_2015_Report.pdf DISL-MBNEP-SAV2015-000-2016 English biota inlandWaters oceans 2015-05-01 2016-06-21 -88.399681 -87.460490 30.229753 30.812003 A shapefile containing 1437 field points documenting the location, species composition, and other habitat characteristics of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in coastal Alabama between May 2015 and June 2016. true MBNEP 2015 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation - Field Points MBNEP Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Survey - Feature Catalogue 2016-09-01 Field surveys began in May 2015 and continued to mid-November. A total of 1,243 field points were assessed in 2015. Additional locations that were not inspected during 2015 were visited in the late spring and early summer of 2016. In total, point data for the summer and fall 2015 mapping effort were collected at 1,437 locations. Field location points were logged using a Trimble Pro XR differential GPS unit, following common GPS practices. Depth (m) was measured with a graded sounding pole. Species identifications were made primarily through in-situ observations or hand-collected and identified in the field or laboratory. MBNEP Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Survey - Feature Catalogue submerged aquatic vegetation, SAV, species composition, coastal habitats, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 1.0 2016-09-01 Roberta Swann Mobile Bay National Estuary Program 118 North Royal Street Suite 601 Mobile Alabama 36602 mbnep@mobilebaynep.com MBNEP 2015 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation - Field Points Attribute table within a shape file with GPS field points data. Surveys for beds of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) were conducted on the Alabama Gulf Coast during the summer and fall months of 2015 to provide SAV distributional data in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Areas covered within the two-county region include Mobile Bay, the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and adjoining waters along the coast of Alabama. A total of 1,437 field points was visited in the field to verify the presence of SAV and to determine species composition. Twenty-six vascular plant species representing 14 taxonomic families were recorded during the survey. false 2015_SAV_Field_Points FID Internal feature number generated automatically by ESRI ArcGIS. Shape Feature geometry. Point Polygon DATE Date that the GPS location was taken. FIELD_ID Identification number given during the time of the survey. PRESENCE_A Whether submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) was present at the site. YES NO SPECIES SAV species observed during field verification. Unique Two Letter Codes for SAV Taxa for 2015. CC Cabomba caroliniana CD Ceratophyllum demersum EB Eleocharis baldwinii HD Heteranthera dubia HV Hydrilla verticillata HW Halodule wrightii LF Luziola fluitans MA Myriophyllum aquaticum MH Myriophyllum heterophyllum MS Myriophyllum spicatum NG Najas guadelupensis NU Nuphar ulvacea PC Potamogeton crispus PD Potamogeton diversifolius PN Potamogeton nodosus PP Potamogeton pusillus RM Rupia maritima SA Sparganium americanum SP Stuckenia pectinata TT Thalassia testudinum UF Utricularia foliosa UI Utricularia inflata UT Utricularia sp. VN Vallisneria neotropicalis ZP Zannichellia palustris DENSITY Type of SAV patch, based on in field observations and orthophoto assessment. Continuous Patchy Sparse NO SAV DEPTH__MET Depth of SAV in meters, as measured with a graded sounding pole. COMMENT_1 Physical description of field point, from in field observation. COMMENT_2 Secondary physical description of field point, from in field observation. Used when necessary. TIER_II Whether field point was used for Tier II survey: habitat condition assessments as a potential complementary tool in a comprehensive seagrass monitoring program. Report and data for this survey are available in "Tier 2 Seagrass Monitoring 2015", Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc., July 2016, 16pp. YES EDGE_POINT Whether field point was used to test spatial accuracy of SAV polygons superimposed over the aerial imagery acquired for the larger study. Report for the overall study is "Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Mapping in Mobile Bay and Adjacent Waters of Coastal Alabama in 2015", Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc., July 2016, 28 pp. YES NORTHING X Coordinate calculated with ArcGIS 10.3 and GPS EASTING Y Coordinate calculated with ArcGIS 10.3 and GPS MBNEP 2015 Submerged Aquatic Vegetation - Aerial Imagery Polygons Attribute table within a shape file with polygon data. Surveys for beds of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) were conducted on the Alabama Gulf Coast during the summer and fall months of 2015 to provide SAV distributional data in Mobile and Baldwin Counties. Areas covered within the two-county region include Mobile Bay, the lower Mobile-Tensaw Delta, and adjoining waters along the coast of Alabama. Digital aerial imagery was acquired on July 17, 18, and 19 and August 23, 25, and 26 (1,068 photographs) for the summer dataset, and October 10-15 (1,068 photographs) for the fall dataset. Each set of native images were rectified and converted into digital ortho frames and a MrSID mosaic. Examination of the aerial imagery identified specific areas of SAV. Species categories are based on a visual assessment of the dominant taxa occurring at field point locations. false 2015_SAV_Summer_Polygons, 2015_SAV_Fall_Polygons FID Internal feature number generated automatically by ESRI ArcGIS. Shape Feature geometry. Point Polygon Id Identification number generated by ESRI ArcGIS 10.3. habit Type of SAV patch, based on in field observations and orthophoto assessment. CONTINUOUS PATCHY Species SAV species observed during field verification. Unique Two Letter Codes for SAV Taxa for 2015. Note: all species observed in the field are noted, including infrequent, minor components of the beds. CC Cabomba caroliniana CD Ceratophyllum demersum EB Eleocharis baldwinii HD Heteranthera dubia HV Hydrilla verticillata HW Halodule wrightii LF Luziola fluitans MA Myriophyllum aquaticum MH Myriophyllum heterophyllum MS Myriophyllum spicatum NG Najas guadelupensis NU Nuphar ulvacea PC Potamogeton crispus PD Potamogeton diversifolius PN Potamogeton nodosus PP Potamogeton pusillus RM Rupia maritima SA Sparganium americanum SP Stuckenia pectinata TT Thalassia testudinum UF Utricularia foliosa UI Utricularia inflata UT Utricularia sp. VN Vallisneria neotropicalis ZP Zannichellia palustris ground_tes Whether or not a groundtruth point was taken in the SAV polygon. YES NO Perimeter Perimeter of the polygon in meters, as calculated by ESRI ArcGIS 10.3. Area Area of the polygon in square meters, as calculated by ESRI ArcGIS 10.3. Acres The acreage of the polygon, as calculated by ESRI ArcGIS 10.3. Category The most prevalent SAV species at the site, upon which the habitat classification was based. Details about habitat category are available in the 2015 study report (Barry A. Vittor and Associates, Inc., 2016, "Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Mapping in Mobile Bay and Adjacent Waters of Coastal Alabama in 2015." Mobile Bay National Estuary Program. p.14-15). CC Cabomba caroliniana CD Ceratophyllum demersum EB Eleocharis baldwinii HD Heteranthera dubia HV Hydrilla verticillata HW Halodule wrightii LF Luziola fluitans MA Myriophyllum aquaticum MH Myriophyllum heterophyllum MS Myriophyllum spicatum NG Najas guadelupensis NU Nuphar ulvacea PC Potamogeton crispus PD Potamogeton diversifolius PN Potamogeton nodosus PP Potamogeton pusillus RM Rupia maritima SA Sparganium americanum SP Stuckenia pectinata TT Thalassia testudinum UF Utricularia foliosa UI Utricularia inflata UT Utricularia sp. VN Vallisneria neotropicalis ZP Zannichellia palustris