Classification of Canadian watersheds for freshwater fishes and fish habitat conservation
Data files
Sep 16, 2026 version files 318.39 MB
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CDN_watershedclass.zip
318.37 MB
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README.md
10.72 KB
Abstract
A number of international, national, and local initiatives around the world aim to conserve freshwater fishes and their habitats. Due to Canada’s vast geography, abundance and diversity of freshwater ecosystems, and limited conservation resources, it is not feasible for all freshwater ecosystems to receive high levels of attention. Here, we present spatial classifications to inform planning for four freshwater fish conservation objectives: (i) area-based protection; (ii) habitat restoration; (iii) at-risk species management; and, (iv) non-native species management. We compiled fish biodiversity and anthropogenic stress datasets, and applied a blind co-author solicitation process with weighted scoring to classify watersheds for each objective at different spatial scales. We developed a conservation planning-ready tool, and compare the area-based protection classification to the current extent of protected and conserved areas to highlight opportunities for freshwater protection. Many of the watersheds in southern Canada had high scores for one or more of the conservation objectives, and there are additional opportunities for area-based protection in the north and northwestern parts of the country. Our process can be applied in other jurisdictions where similar data are available, and the resulting information could help practitioners select areas for freshwater fish conservation planning and investment.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.80gb5mm49
Overview
The files described below (raw data, annotated R code, and geopackages available
in the CDN_watershedclass zip file) support "Classification of Canadian watersheds
for freshwater fishes and fish habitat conservation".
Fish biodiversity and stress data were used to classify watersheds across Canada
for four conservation objectives: (1) area-based protection; (2) habitat
restoration; (3) at-risk species management; and, (4) non-native species
management. The classifications were calculated at three spatial scales:
(1) national level 6 watersheds, (2) within Canada’s freshwater ecoregions
(ranking of level 6 results within the ecoregional boundaries); and, (3) for
smaller level 12 watersheds within the Lake Erie basin. Fish species richness,
species at risk richness, fish community change, fish community rarity, climate
change, and watershed stress indices were generated for each watershed.
Classifications for each of the four objectives were calculated using a weighted
scoring model with the median weights derived from expert opinion. The robustness
of the classifications was examined using Monte Carlo simulations. Finally, the
national classification for area-based protection was compared against the
spatial extents of existing protected and conserved areas in Canada to highlight
where there may be opportunities for additional freshwater protection.
All files are in CDN_watershedclass.zip
National Watershed and Freshwater Ecoregion Dataset
H6dataresults.csv
Raw and normalized data for the six indices as well as the results for the
national (and freshwater ecoregion)
Data Dictionary
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| OBJECTID_1 | Unique identifier for polygon |
| HYBAS_ID | Unique HydroBASINS Level 6 watershed code |
| FEOW_ID | Freshwater ecoregion code |
| WSI | Watershed stress raw value |
| CCI | Climate change raw value |
| RarityI | Community rarity raw value |
| ChangeI | Community change raw value |
| SARI | Number of species at risk (raw value) |
| RichnessI | Number of fish species (raw value) |
| ChangeI_n | Community change index (normalized) |
| WSI_n | Watershed stress index (normalized) |
| CCI_n | Climate change index (normalized) |
| RarityI_n | Community rarity index (normalized) |
| SARI_n | Species-at-risk index (normalized) |
| RichnessI_ | Fish species richness index (normalized) |
| protection | Area-based protection score |
| restoratio | Habitat restoration score |
| SAR_score | At-risk species management score |
| AIS_score | Non-native species management score |
| Prot_rank_ | Area-based protection rank within freshwater ecoregion |
| Rest_rank_ | Habitat restoration rank within freshwater ecoregion |
| SAR_rank_f | At-risk species management rank within freshwater ecoregion |
| AIS_rank_f | Non-native species management rank within freshwater ecoregion |
Lake Erie Watershed Dataset
Species accumulation curves were generated using site-level fish sampling data
to determine whether watershed species lists were complete.
Fish Sampling Data
File
LEH12fishsite.csv
Watershed-site-species matrix used for species accumulation analyses.
R Script
spp_accumulationcsv.R
Calculates end slopes used of accumulation curves to assess completeness of
watershed fish species inventories.
Lake Erie Results Dataset
File
H12dataresults.csv
Raw and normalized data for the six indices as well as the results for the
Lake Erie dataset
Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| HYBAS_ID | Unique HydroBASINS Level 12 watershed code |
| merge | Lake Erie basin identifier |
| CCI | Climate change raw value |
| WSI | Watershed stress raw value |
| FBCI | Community change raw value |
| Fish_richn | Fish species richness raw value |
| SARI | Number of species at risk raw value |
| Fish_prior | Community rarity raw value |
| FBCI_n | Community change index (normalized) |
| WSI_n | Watershed stress index (normalized) |
| CCI_n | Climate change index (normalized) |
| Priority_n | Community rarity index (normalized) |
| SARI_n | Species-at-risk index (normalized) |
| Fish_ric_1 | Fish species richness index (normalized) |
| protection | Area-based protection score |
| restoratio | Habitat restoration score |
| SAR_score | At-risk species management score |
| AIS_score | Non-native species management score |
Co-author Weightings
File Co_author_weightings.csv
Field names
| Weight for area-based protection [Watershed stress]
| Weight for area-based protection [Fish biodiversity change ]
| Weight for area-based protection [Climate change]
| Weight for area-based protection [SAR density]
| Weight for area-based protection [Fish species richness]
| Weight for area-based protection [Fish species priority (average rarity)]
| Weight for habitat restoration [Watershed stress]
| Weight for habitat restoration [Fish biodiversity change ]
| Weight for habitat restoration [Climate change]
| Weight for habitat restoration [SAR density]
| Weight for habitat restoration [Fish species richness]
| Weight for habitat restoration [Fish species priority (average rarity)]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [Watershed stress]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [Fish biodiversity change ]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [Climate change]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [SAR density]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [Fish species richness]
| Weight for aquatic species at risk management [Fish species priority (average rarity)]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [Watershed stress]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [Fish biodiversity change ]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [Climate change]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [SAR density]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [Fish species richness]
| Weight for aquatic invasive species management [Fish species priority (average rarity)]
Watershed Classification Calculations
Formula
Score <- sum(MedianWeight * IndexValue)
Input Data
H6_data.csv
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| HYBAS_ID | Unique HydroBASINS Level 6 watershed code |
| FEOW_ID | Freshwater ecoregion |
| WSI_n | Watershed stress index |
| FBCI_n | Community change index |
| CCI_n | Climate change index |
| SARI_n | Species at risk index |
| Richness_n | Fish species richness index |
| Priority_n | Community rarity index |
Scripts
calculate_scores.R
R code for weighted scoring model, which is the sum of the median co-author scores*index
Sensitivity Analysis
Script
H6sensitivityanalysis.R
R code for Monte Carlo simulations to assess the robustness of the classifications
to variation in the weights applied for the weighted scoring model
Supporting Files
SensitivityH6data.csv
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| SensitivityH6data.csv | Values for the six watershed indices |
| apb_weightings.csv | Area-based protection weighting scenarios |
| hab_weightings.csv | Habitat restoration weighting scenarios |
| atrisk_weightings.csv | At-risk species management weighting scenarios |
| Nonnative_weightings.csv | Non-native species management weighting scenarios |
Protected and Conserved Areas Analysis
File
H6ProportionProtected.csv
Contains proportion area overlap between protected/conserved areas and watersheds
within the top 25th percentile scores for area-based protection.
Geopackage Data
all spatial files can be opened in freeware such as QGIS
File
CDNwatershedclass.gpkg
Layers
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| FEOW_CDN | Freshwater ecoregions of Canada |
| H6data | HydroBASINS Level 6 watershed results |
| H12data | Lake Erie watershed results |
| ProtAreas | Protected and conserved areas in Canada |
Shiny Application Resources
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| map6wgs.gpkg | National HydroBASINS Level 6 classification scores and ecoregional ranks |
| s_feow.gpkg | Freshwater ecoregion boundaries |
| WS_App.R | Annotated Shiny app code |
File Inventory
Data Files
- H6dataresults.csv
- H12dataresults.csv
- LEH12fishsite.csv
- Co_author_weightings.csv
- H6_data.csv
- SensitivityH6data.csv
- apb_weightings.csv
- hab_weightings.csv
- atrisk_weightings.csv
- Nonnative_weightings.csv
- H6ProportionProtected.csv
Scripts
- calculate_scores.R
- spp_accumulationcsv.R
- H6sensitivityanalysis.R
- WS_App.R
Geospatial Data
- CDNwatershedclass.gpkg
- map6wgs.gpkg
- s_feow.gpkg