Metadata

Fishes of Minnesota Observations Database

Go to Section:
1. Overview
2. Data Quality
3. Data Organization
4. Coordinate System
5. Attributes
6. Distribution - Get Data
7. Metadata Reference


Section 1	Overview
Originator	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR)
Title	Fishes of Minnesota Observations Database
Abstract	The Fishes of Minnesota Observations database is a large Postgres database developed to support the online MNDNR Fishes of Minnesota Mapper application. The database contains records of fish species observations from lakes, streams and wetlands collected by a variety of sources over the time period 1808-2012. The majority of lake-related records come from the MNDNR Fisheries Lake Survey database, while the majority of stream-related records come from the MPCA Biological Monitoring Program. Other major sources include: USGS, USFWS and the Bell Museum. The true locations of fish species observations are represented in the database, with the following exceptions: MNDNR Fisheries Lake Survey observations are shown as lake centerpoint to protect net set locations from tampering The locations of protected species have been obscured to protect sensitive species and their habitats The point observations are available for download from the web application in .csv, shapefile and species list format. The shapefile is also available from the MN Geospatial Commons website (see Section 6: Distribution.) The Fishes of Minnesota database and web application are the result of a collaborative effort between MNDNR Ecological and Water Resources, MNDNR Fisheries, and MNDNR Management Resources divisions.
Purpose	To provide access to a comprehensive collection of Minnesota fish species observation data to researchers, agency staff, anglers and other interested parties. The online mapper allows users to query and map the data without need for GIS software or knowledge. (Note that the shapefile is also available for download by GIS users). Users of the online Fishes of MN Mapper can: Query the database by a variety of criteria such as species name, protection status, watershed and date range View tabular records associated with point observations Generate species lists for particular waterbodies, watersheds, counties or DNR management areas Download data records in .csv (comma-delimited text for Excel) or .shp (ESRI shapefile for GIS) Move interactively between the map interface and tabular results Map the distributions of different fish species across Minnesota Export queried map data as an image Create a map based on a custom query Important note: In general, the data is not suitable for comparing the abundance of fish species across waterbodies due to the different methods/efforts/gears used to collect the data. An exception are records collected by DNR Fisheries Lake Survey (see [Source] attribute), which may be compared to each other because standardized methods were used. However, users must understand that lakes of different types and in different regions inherently vary in the presence and abundance of certain species and must be compared to others of similar types/geographic regions in order to make true comparisons. It is best to contact a Fisheries professional when making interpretations about fish species distributions/abundances and specific waterbodies.
Time Period of Content Date	12/31/2012
Currentness Reference	There are records extending back to 1808, although these are few. DNR Fisheries Lake Survey data has been added from 1953 through 2012. MPCA stream data spans from 1966-2012. We plan to update the database annually with MNDNR and MPCA data from the current year's field surveys. Other data will be added as it becomes available.
Progress	In work
Maintenance and Update Frequency	Annually
Spatial Extent of Data	Minnesota, including some records of fish species in border waters (Iowa, Wisconsin, N/S Dakota, Canada)
Bounding Coordinates	-97.252252 -89.406737 49.340250 43.098198
Place Keywords	Minnesota, upper Midwest, lake, stream, wetland
Theme Keywords	fish, species, distribution, range, catch, gear, sampling, survey
Theme Keyword Thesaurus	ISO 19115 Category
Access Constraints	None
Use Constraints	Comparisons of catch should generally not be made between records due to differences in sampling effort and gears used. An exception to this rule is that records from [SOURCE] = DNR Fisheries Lake Survey may be compared because standardized methods were used. (See Important Note under Purpose, Section 1, above). Note that absence of a fish species in a particular waterbody doesn't guarantee that it isn't present, only that it wasn't observed in the survey(s) performed. This may be due to many factors, including the type of gear used, time of day or year, purpose of the survey, species targeted, etc.) Conversely, presence of a fish species in a particular year doesn't guarantee that it is still present today.
Contact Person Information	Lyn Bergquist, GIS Data Contact Minnesota DNR - Fisheries Unit 500 Lafayette Rd Saint Paul, MN 55155 Phone: 651-259-5189 Email: [email protected]
Browse Graphic	Click to view a data sample
Associated Data Sets	DNR Fisheries Lake Survey - Fish Species Presence


Section 2	Data Quality
Attribute Accuracy
Logical Consistency	Species point observations fall on waterbodies (polygons) and on/near watercourses (lines) as intended. Spatial joins have been performed to ensure that observations fall on/near the listed water feature.
Completeness	This is the most comprehensive fish species database maintained in Minnesota. However, there are likely to be smaller data holdings that are not represented here. We welcome contributions from external sources. See Contact Information (Section 1, above).
Horizontal Positional Accuracy	Data are represented as points. For lakes, the records are positioned at the lake centerpoint. For streams, actual locations were used if available. For many records, locations were moved from the Township-Range-Section recorded in the original database to the closest position on the referenced stream.
Vertical Positional Accuracy	Not Applicable
Lineage	Generated from GPS-collected UTM locations or moved to waterbody/watercourse from Township-Range-Section locations recorded in the original Fishes of MN database. Observations collected by source DNR Fisheries Lake Survey were moved to the lake centerpoint from the actual sampled location. Observations of protected species were "obscured", either by calculating UTMS to NULL or moving points to lake and stream centerpoints. All other lake and stream observations appear at their original locations.


Section 3	Spatial Data Organization (not used in this metadata)



Section 4	Coordinate System
Horizontal Coordinate Scheme	Universal Transverse Mercator
UTM Zone Number	15
Horizontal Datum	NAD83
Horizontal Units	meters


Section 5	Attributes
Overview	This is a large Postgres database which holds fish species observation records for the DNR Fishes of MN Mapper application. The attributes listed below appear in the Fishes of MN shapefile export (available from the Tabular Results page of the mapping application). Attributes marked with () appear in the Tabular Results* display window. Attributes marked with (^) appear in the species list export from the Tabular Results display window. (Note: field names in web export products may differ from those listed below).
Detailed Citation
Table Detail:

Field Name	Valid Values	Definition	Definition Source
biota_fishes_of_mn - MNDNR Fishes of MN DB (MNDNR Fishes of MN DB)
FOM_iD*	1 to 500000	Unique sequential ID that links data records back to the original Ecological Resources Filemaker Pro database	MNDNR Fishes of MN DB
SP_SNAME*^	-	Fish species scientific name
SP_CNAME*^	-	Fish species common name
GROUP_SNAM^	-	Fish group scientific name
GROUP_CNAM^	-	Fish group common name
SP_CER_DES	enumerated	Species certainty: level to which species was identified
	ID to species	Identified to species level (e.g., Lepomis gibbosus)
	ID to genus	Identified to genus level (e.g., Lepomis sp.)
	ID to group	Identified to group level (e.g., Small cyprinids)
	ID as hybrid	Identified as hybrid (e.g., Lepomis x Lepomis)
HABGUILD_A^	enumerated	Habitat guild of adult stage of this species	EWR Stream Habitat Group
	DP	Deep Pool
	FR	Fast Riffle
	MP	Medium Pool
	RW	Raceway
	SP	Shallow Pool
	SR	Slow Riffle
SP_STATUS	enumerated	Protection status of species
	F	Listed as a Federally Endangered species. This is a federal designation.
	E	Listed as a Minnesota Endangered Species. This is a state designation.
	G	Listed as a Minnesota Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). This is a state designation.
	N	Species is non-native to Minnesota
	T	Listed as a Minnesota Threatened Species. This is a state designation.
WB_TYPE	enumerated	Waterbody type
	Lake	Lake, pond, reservoir
	Stream	Stream, river or ditch
	Wetland	Wetland, marsh, bog, swamp, slough
WB_NAME*	-	Waterbody name
FW_ID	-	Fisheries Waterbody ID: unique, sequential number that links data to DNR Fisheries Lake Survey Oracle database
DOW_NUM*	-	Division of Waters unique lake ID number that links to DNR Waters Lakes DB (Oracle database)
LAKE_NAME	-	Division of Waters lake name from DNR Waters Lakes DB (Oracle database)
ALT_NAME	-	Division of Waters alternate lake name from DNR Waters Lakes DB (Oracle database)
KITTLE_NUM	-	DNR Fisheries unique watercourse ID
KITTLE_NAM	-	DNR Fisheries watercourse name
RIVER_MILE	-	River mile or stretch of river (mile to mile) corresponding to a data record.
GEN_LOC	-	General location description corresponding to data record
HABITAT	-	Habitat description corresponding to data record
FSH_OFFICE	-	DNR Fisheries area office name
REGION_NAME	enumerated	DNR Region
	Northwest	Northwest Region 1 (Bemidji)
	Northeast	Northeast Region 2(Grand Rapids)
	Central	Central Region 3 (St. Paul)
	Southern	Southern Region 4 (New Ulm)
STATE_NAME	enumerated	State or province.
	Iowa	Iowa
	Manitoba	Manitoba, Canada (province)
	Minnesota	Minnesota
	North Dakota	North Dakota
	Ontario	Ontario, Canada (province)
	South Dakota	South Dakota
	Wisconsin	Wisconsin
COUNTY_NAME*	-	County name
TOWN_NAME*	-	Town name
TOWNSHIP*	-	Township number
RANGE*	-	Range number and direction (E/W)
SECTION*	-	Section number
UTM_X*	-	X coordinate of point location in projection UTM NAD83 Zone 15 meters
UTM_Y	-	Y coordinate of point location in projection UTM NAD83 Zone 15 meters
MINOR_ID	-	DNR Minor watershed number (5 digits). First 2 digits represent DNR Major watershed number
MINOR_NAME	-	DNR Minor watershed name
MAJOR_ID	-	DNR Major watershed number
MAJOR_NAME	-	DNR Major watershed name
PROV_NAME	-	DNR Level 1 Watershed Name (formerly known as DNR Province name)
HUC02_ID	enumerated	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 1 (Region)
	04	Great Lakes Region
	07	Upper Mississippi Region
	09	Souris-Red-Rainy Region
	10	Missouri Region
HUC04_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 2 (Sub-Region)
HUC04_NAME	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) Name - Level 2 (Sub-Region)
HUC04_MN_N*	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) Minnesota-specific Name - Level 2 (Sub-Region)
HUC06_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 3 (Basin)
HUC08_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 4 (Sub-Basin)
HUC10_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 5
HUC12_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 6
HUC14_ID	-	HUC level not implemented
HUC16_ID	-	USGS HUC (Hydrologic Unit Category) ID - Level 8
DATE*	-	Date (YYYY-MM-DD)
DATE_DESC	-	Date certainty description: certainty of survey date
CATCH*	-	Catch (number of fish of a single species caught in survey effort)
GEAR*	enumerated	Gear type used during survey effort
	Angling	Angling
	Electroshocker	All types of electroshockers (backpack, boat)
	Gill net	All types of gill nets
	Minnow trap	All types of minnow traps
	Miscellaneous	Miscellaneous method
	Seine	All types of seines
	Trap net	All types of trap nets
	Trawl	All types of trawls
	Trotline	All types of trotlines
	Commercial	Gears used by commercial operations
	Multiple Gear	Multiple gears used
	Observation	Fish was observed
	Other Gear	All other types of gear (net, gaff, etc.)
	Unknown	Unknown gear or method
SOURCE*	-	Source of data record
COLLECTOR	-	Collector of fish during survey effort
IDENTIFIER	-	Identifier of fish during survey effort
MUSEUM	enumerated	Museum name; refers to vouchered specimens only
	No museum	No museum (specimen not vouchered).
	CNHM	Canada Natural History Museum (CNHM)
	INHS	Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS)
	JFBM	Bell Museum (JFBM)
	JFBM, UT	Bell Museum, University of Tennessee-Knoxville (JFBM, UT)
	MPM	Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM)
	ROM	Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Canada
	UF	University of Florida-Gainesville (UF)
	UMMZ	University of Michigan - Museum of Zoology (UMMZ)
	USNM	US National Museum (USNM)
	UWSP	University of Wisconsin-Steven's Point (UWSP)
	UWZM	University of Wisconsin Zoological Museum-Madison (UWZM)
	UT	University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UT)
	CMN	Canada Museum of Nature (CMN)
	INBS	Indiana Biological Survey (INBS)
	MCBS	University of Minnesota College of Biological Sciences (MCBS)
	OSUM	Ohio State University Museum (OSUM)
	SU	San Francisco University (SU)
SPNAT_DESC	enumerated	Nature (method) of vouchered specimen
	not preserved	Not preserved (voucher = F only)
	alcohol	Preserved in alcohol
	display mount	Specimen mounted in display
	not extant	Specimen not extant (i.e., no longer exists) (voucher = F only)
	photographed only	Specimen photographed only
	preserved	Specimen preserved - method not recorded
	released	Specimen released (voucher = F only)
	skeleton	Skeleton preserved
	unknown	Specimen preservation method unknown
VOUCHER*	enumerated
	True	Voucher = True: Specimen was preserved AND has a catalog number. See SPNAT_DESC (nature of specimen) and MUSEUM (museum having vouchered specimen).
	False	Voucher = False: Specimen was not preserved OR specimen was preserved but DOES NOT HAVE a catalog number. See SPNAT_DESC (nature of specimen).
OBSCURED*	enumerated
	Y	Original location of observation has been obscured to protect species (all federally and state protected species) and net sets (Fisheries Lake Survey data). For lakes, obscured locations are placed at the lake centerpoint. For streams, they are usually placed at the centerpoint of the stream segment within the same HUC12 watershed as the original location. If UTMs are NULL, the original UTMs have been removed and not yet (but will eventually be) replaced with obscured UTMs.
	N	Original location of observation



Section 6	Distribution
Publisher	MNDNR - Division of Fish and Wildlife - Fisheries Unit
Publication Date	11/01/2014
Contact Person Information	Zeb Thomas, GIS Data Systems Coordinator Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 500 Lafayette Rd St. Paul, MN 55155-4011 Phone: 651-259-5637 Email: [email protected]
Distributor's Data Set Identifier	biota_fishes_of_mn.gdb/biota_fishes_of_mn
Distribution Liability	Please read accompanying document: Minnesota DNR Data and Software License Agreement.pdf
Ordering Instructions	Visit the web site noted in the online linkage section, or send an email to the Distribution Contact listed in this metadata record Download data from the MNDNR Fishes of MN Mapper website at the URL below. Available in .csv (comma-delimited text for Excel) and .shp (ESRI shapefile for GIS) formats from the Tabular Results page. URL: www.dnr.state.mn.us/maps/fom/mapper.html?layers=lakes+streams+wshd_lev01py3+occurrences
Online Linkage	None available


Section 7	Metadata Reference
Metadata Date	06/04/2015
Contact Person Information	Zeb Thomas, GIS Data Systems Coordinator Minnesota Department of Natural Resources 500 Lafayette Rd St. Paul, MN 55155-4011 Phone: 651-259-5637 Email: [email protected]
Metadata Standard Name	Minnesota Geographic Metadata Guidelines
Metadata Standard Version	1.2
Metadata Standard Online Linkage	http://www.mngeo.state.mn.us/committee/standards/mgmg/metadata.htm

This page last updated:

06/04/2015