Fish surveys of the Upper Yukon and Tanana Rivers 2020–2022
Cite this dataset
Cathcart, Nate (2024). Fish surveys of the Upper Yukon and Tanana Rivers 2020–2022 [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0gb5mkm5d
Abstract
From summer 2020 through fall 2022, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), Division of Sport Fish staff will conduct a rapid, systematic inventory of anadromous and resident fish distribution and associated aquatic and riparian habitat in select drainages of the upper Tanana River and in select drainages of the Fortymile River and adjacent Yukon River drainages. This proposal is part two of a multi-year inventory effort that began in 2019, when project staff inventoried fish assemblages in Yukon & Tanana river drainages downstream of the 2020 study area. In 2020 project staff will continue where they left off and continue working upstream in those drainages. Target streams will be selected to fill gaps in coverage of the State of Alaska's Catalog of Waters Important for the Spawning, Rearing or Migration of Anadromous Fishes (AWC) in freshwater habitats expected to support anadromous fish populations likely to be impacted by human activities. Each of two crews will sample standardized target stream reaches using electro-fishers, with sufficient effort to collect all species (perhaps with the exception of rare species) of the extant fish community. At each sampling site, crews will also document standard aquatic and riparian habitat characteristics. These observations will be recorded in the Alaska Freshwater Fish Inventory database (AFFID) and made publicly available via the AFFID internet mapping service. For each water body in which anadromous fish are observed, nominations to the AWC will be submitted.
Crews sampled 135 sites from 2020–2022.
README: Fish surveys of the Upper Yukon and Tanana Rivers 2020–2022
See other README.csv file for an easier to read version of the below.
Row Number Data belongs to: Agency Alaska Department of Fish & Game Phone Email
1 Department Sport Fish RTS
2 Data Source Alaska Freshwater Fish Inventory (AFFI)
3 Data Source Info http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=ffinventory.main
4 Biologist Contact Nate Cathcart 907-267-2238 nate.cathcart@alaska.gov
5 Technical Contact Ryan Snow 907-267-2876 ryan.snow@alaska.gov
6 NOTEMany columns are not filled in due to outdated methods of data compilation and shifting project needs since the inception of this database
7
8 Metadata for "Project" tab
9
10 Column Entry Description
11 A projectID Unique project identifier in Alaska Freshwater Fish Inventory database
12 B projectCode Project code given by project staff, typically an acronym with year of primary field season (e.g., FSYK19 = Fish Surveys in YuKon during 2019).
13 C project Project locations
14 D projectDescription Project description
15 E officeLocation Office location of participating staff
16 F officeName Name of office
17 G startDate Beginning of project
18 H endDate End of project
19 I dueDate Date when reporting is due
20 J extendDate Extension date if applicable
21 K driveLetter Letter of the network drive for storage
22 L directoryPath Directory for finding the data on the shared network
23 M dataStatus Status of data and whether or not it can be publicly shared pending entry, quality assurance, and review.
24 N webDisplay TRUE indicates it is ready to be or has been uploaded and published to online mapping website. FALSE indicates it is or has not.
25
26 Metadata for "Survey" tab
27
28 Column Entry Description
29 A surveyID Unique identifier for the survey
30 B projectID Unique project identifier in Alaska Freshwater Fish Inventory database
31 C siteID Unique numerical identifier for the site
32 D projectCode Project code given by project staff, typically an acronym with year of primary field season (e.g., FSYK19 = Fish Surveys in YuKon during 2019).
33 E survey Unique survey code where the first two digits indicate the day of sampling (1st day of field work would be 01), the letter indicates the crew or team sampling (A, C, etc.), and the last two digits are occupied by the site number (1st site of the day is 01, 2nd site is 02, etc.)
34 F surveyDate Date of sampling
35 G cameraCounter File numbers for images related to the site
36 H observer1 Name of crew member
37 I observer2 Name of crew member
38 J observer3 Name of crew member
39 K observer4 Name of crew member
40 L streamStage Qualitative classification of stream stage: High, Medium, Low, Dry defined channel, Dry no defined channel, Dry, Low continuous channel, Low discontinuous channel, Wet no defined channel
41 M precipitation Qualitative category of precipitation amount over the last 48 hours: None, None/Trace, Trace, Moderate, Heavy
42 N tempAir Air temperature (C)
43 O tempWater Water temperature (C)
44 P PH pH: measure of how acidic/basic the water is
45 Q DO Dissolved oxygen in mg/L
46 R NTU Measure of turbidity or amount of suspended particles in water, NTU: Nephelometric Turbidity Units
47 S secchi Secchi disk reading to indicate visibility relative to the distance one can see into the water.
48 T salinity Salinity measured in %
49 U embeddedness Embeddedness of substrates on streambed, qualitative: negligable, low, moderate, high, very high
50 V TVHRDepth Transparent velocity head rod (TVHR) depth measurement
51 W transparencyDepthD Depth at which Secchi disk disappears (cm)
52 X transparencyDepthR Depth at which Secchi disk reappears (cm)
53 Y transparencyDepth Average measurement between disappearence and reappearance depths of Secchi Disk (cm)
54 Z streamGradient Gradient of the stream (%) as measured by a clinometer
55 AA streamSinuosity Sinuosity of the stream
56 AB OHWWidth Wetted width at ordinary high water mark (m)
57 AC OHWDepth Thalweg depth at ordinary high water mark (m)
58 AD WETWidth Wetted width (m)
59 AE WETDepth Thalweg depth at wetted width (m)
60 AF BFWidth Bankfull width (m)
61 AG BFDepth Thalweg depth at bankfull width (m)
62 AH streamVelocity Velocity of the stream (m/s, ft/s, etc.)
63 AI qualitativeVelocity Qualitative classification of water velocity: Still, Slow, Medium, Fast
64 AJ waterClarity Qualitative classification of water appearance: clear, feric, glacial (high turbidity), glacial (low turbidity), glacial, humic, muddy
65 AK entrenchment Qualitative classification of stream entrenchment: Entrenched, moderately entrenched, slightly entrenched
66 AL sampleReachLength Length of reach electrofished or sampled for fish
67 AM rosgen96 Stream valley classification based on Rosgen (1996)
68 AN tongas92 Stream valley classification based on Tongass 1992
69 AO conductivity Conductivity of water measured in microsiemens per centimeter
70 AP iceDepth Depth of ice if present
71 AQ waterDepth Depth of water below ice, if present.
72 AR substrate1 Primary dominant substrate
73 AS substrate2 Secondary dominant substrate
74 AT substrate3 Tertiary dominant substrate
75 AU vegetationDistanceLUD Distance in which Riparian vegetation type(s) were classified within user defined distance of river left streambank (m)
76 AV vegetationDistanceRUD Distance in which Riparian vegetation type(s) were classified within user defined distance of river right streambank (m)
77 AW vegetationClassL05 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 5 meters of river left streambank
78 AX vegetationClassL10 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 10 meters of river left streambank
79 AY vegetationClassL20 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 20 meters of river left streambank
80 AZ vegetationClassL30 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 30 meters of river left streambank
81 BA vegetationClassLUD Riparian vegetation type(s) within user defined distance from river left streambank
82 BB vegetationClassR05 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 5 meters of river right streambank
83 BC vegetationClassR10 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 10 meters of river right streambank
84 BD vegetationClassR20 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 20 meters of river right streambank
85 BE vegetationClassR30 Riparian vegetation type(s) within 30 meters of river right streambank
86 BF vegetationClassRUD Riparian vegetation type(s) within user defined distance from river right streambank
87 BG methodSTG Method used for measuring stream gradient
88 BH methodH2Q Method used for measuring water quality (DO, pH, etc.)
89 BI methodSTV Method used for measuring stream velocity
90 BJ methodCHW Method used for measuring channel widths
91 BK methodCHD Method used for measuring channel depths
92 BL methodTUR Method used for measuring turbidity
93 BM methodEFG Method used for electrofishing
94 BN methodTRN Method used for measuring water transparency
95 BO comments Comments from staff about the site
96 BP commentsWildlife Comments from staff about wildlife or wildlife related things.
97 BQ canopyHeightL05 Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank within 5 meters of the stream.
98 BR canopyHeightL10 Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank within 10 meters of the stream.
99 BS canopyHeightL20 Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank within 20 meters of the stream.
100 BT canopyHeightL30 Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank within 30 meters of the stream.
101 BU canopyHeightLUD Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank of the stream within a user-defined perspective.
102 BV canopyHeightR05 Canopy height of vegetation on river left bank within 5 meters of the stream.
103 BW canopyHeightR10 Canopy height of vegetation on river right bank within 10 meters of the stream.
104 BX canopyHeightR20 Canopy height of vegetation on river right bank within 20 meters of the stream.
105 BY canopyHeightR30 Canopy height of vegetation on river right bank within 30 meters of the stream.
106 BZ canopyHeightRUD Canopy height of vegetation on river right bank within user-defined perspective.
107 CA rosgen96Code Stream channel classification based on Rosgen (1996)
108 CB tongas92Code Stream channel classification based on Rosgen (1996)
109 CC streamDischarge Discharge of the stream measured in cubic meters per second
110 CD percentSaturation Percent saturation of Dissolved Oxygen (%)
111
112 Metadata for "Site" tab
113
114 Column Entry Description
115 A siteID Unique number for site ID
116 B site Site ID according to project code and site
117 C siteDesc Site description (typically blank)
118 D decDegLat1 Latitude (decimal degrees)
119 E decDegLon1 Longitude (decimal degrees)
120 F decDegLat2 Latitude (decimal degrees)
121 G decDegLon2 Longitude (decimal degrees)
122 H decDegLat3 Latitude (decimal degrees)
123 I decDegLon3 Longitude (decimal degrees)
124 J datum Datum used: WGS84, NAD83, NAD27
125 K MTRS Survey identification system: Meridian, Township, Range, Section (MTRS)
126 L quad Location-specific name of the quad
127 M ITM Quad Item identifier
128 N region Alaskan region (Arctic, Western, South Central, Southeast, Southwest, or Interior)
129 O elevationGIS Site elevation according to GIS
130 P elevationGPS Site elevation according to GPS
131 Q HUCCode Hydrologic unit code
132 R AWCstreamNo Anadromous Waters Catalog number for the stream
133 S AWCstreamNoNear the Anadromous Waters Catalog ID for the nearest AWC-listed waterbody
134 T reachIdent Reach identifier
135 U streamOrder Order of stream
136 V streamName Name of waterbody
137 W streamNameType Stream name (USGS, local, or unknown name)
138 X comments Geographic comments of site
139 Y cdMethod Correction differential method
140 Z GPSError GPS error in meters
141 AA catchmentArea The area a watershed drains (square kilometers)
142 AB LTRM Long term (True for yes, false for no)
143
144 Meta data for "Fish observation" tab
145
146 Column Entry Description
147 A fishObservationID Unique fish observation ID
148 B surveyID Survey/site ID corresponding to fish observation
149 C species Species of fish
150 D lifeStage Life stage of fish
151 E lifeHistory Life history of fish (e.g., anadromous, resident freshwater)
152 F fishActivity BLANK
153 G suspectSpawn Was observed species spawning?
154 H barrier Type of barrier to fish passage
155 I barrierPopOrMig What the barrier affects: unknown, population, migrants
156 J comments Comments about observed species
157 K genus Fish genus
158 L speciesCode Species code
159 M lifeStageCode Life stage code
160 N lifeHistoryCode Life history code
161 O speciesID Species ID
162 P lifeStageID Life stage ID
163 Q lifeHistoryID Life history ID
164 R fishActivityID fish activity ID
165
166 Metadata for "Fish Individual" tab
167
168 Column Entry Description
169 A fishIndividualID Individual fish ID
170 B fishObservationID Observation ID of the fish sampling effort
171 C sampleEventCode Sampling event code
172 D seqNo Sequential order of fish data according to individual per site
173 E length Length, typically fork length, measured in mm
174 F lengthType Measurement type (fork length, total length, standard length, etc.)
175 G sex Sex of fish
176 H fishAnomaly Anomolous notes of fish
177 I age Age of fish
178 J ageMethod Method used to determine age
179 K weight Fish weight (g)
180 L retained Retained for further analysis?
181 M mortality Did the fish die?
182 N finClip Checked box indicated fin was clipped
183 O vial Vial number if tissue samples taken from fish
184 P tag Tag number if fish was tagged
185 Q camCounter File numbers for images of fish
186 R comments Any comments related to fish
187
188 Metadata for "Fish AddCount" tab
189
190 Column Entry Description
191 A fishAddCountID Additional fish count ID
192 B fishObservationID Observation ID of the fish sampling effort
193 C sampleEventCode Sample event code corresponding to fish data (A,B,C, etc.)
194 D fishAddCount Number of fish counted
195 E estimated Was count estimated or more accurate?
196 F comments Any comments on fish observed
197
198 Metadata for "Sample Event" tab
199
200 Column Entry Description
201 A sampleEventID The sample event ID corresponding to fish observations and survey/site
202 B surveyID Survey/site ID corresponding to fish observation
203 C sampleEventCode Sample event code corresponding to fish data (A,B,C, etc.)
204 D sampleEventDesc Description of sample event
205 E sampleGear Gear used to sample fish (angling, electrofishing, nets, traps, visual observations, etc.)
206 F trapCount Number of traps used
207 G trapTimeIn Date and time the trap was set
208 H trapTimeOut Date and time the trap was checked/pulled
209 I trapTime Total time trap was fishing
210 J sampleLocation Location of sampling event
211 K electroTime Time electrofished (seconds)
212 L electroArea Area electrofished
213 M electroFrequency Frequency (Hz) used during electrofishing
214 N electroWave Wave type (Pulsed or unpulsed) used during electrofishing
215 O electroDutyCycle Duty cycle (%) used during electrofishing
216 P electroVolt Voltage (V) used during electrofishing
217 Q electroCurrent Current (Amps) output during electrofishing
218 R electroPower Power (Watts) output during electrofishing
219 S electroRange Range seen in outputs or settings used in electrofishing
220 T electroPercent Percent electrofished
221 U sampleEfficiency Sampling efficiency, qualitative (good, poor, fair, excellent)
222 V sampleHabitatChannel Habitat channel type sampled
223 W sampleHabitatMacro Macrohabitat type sampled
224 X sampleHabitatMeso Mesohabitat type sampled
225 Y sampleHabitatMicro Microhabitat type sampled
226 Z comments Any sampling comments
227 AA subReachNo The sub-reach number
228 AB subReachLength The sub-reach length (m)
229 AC sampleGearCode Sampling gear code
230
231 Metadata for "Observer" tab
232
233 Column Entry Description
234 A observerID Unique numerical identifier of observer
235 B initials Their initials
236 C officeLocationID Office location
237 D location City, state
238 E firstName First name
239 F lastName last name
240 G title title
241 H division Division within ADF&G if employed by ADF&G
242 I department Department
243 J address Office address
244 K city Office city
245 L state Office state
246 M zipCode Office zip code
247 N country Office country
248 O phone Phone number
249 P eMail email address
250 Q notes notes
251 R SOAUserName state of Alaska username (blank)
Methods
Following ADF&G's AFFI protocols (contact nate.cathcart@alaska.gov for specific protocols), 2 crews, each with 2 members, will use helicopters to simultaneously sample fish communities in selected study stream reaches for approximately 12 days during the summer of 2020. Target survey sites will include wadeable headwater streams sampled with a backpack electrofisher, and un-wadeable streams (including mainstem rivers) sampled with a raft-mounted electrofisher. Two helicopters will provide access to the stream study sites for headwater and un-wadeable sample crews. Sites within the study area that have the highest potential for habitat degradation will be identified through consultation with the ADF&G Division of Habitat and Federal Land managers, and any sites they identify will be given a higher sampling priority.
The proposed study area for 2020 also has an extensive road system along the Tanana River. In addition to using helicopters to access difficult-to-reach streams, project staff plan to use the road system and a jet outboard-powered 18-foot skiff to sample more easily accessed streams in the study area. This will likely extend the overall number of sites crews are able to sample this year while not requiring the added expense of helicopter charters for the entire project effort.
Study area selection
The long-term goal of the AFFI program is to complete a statewide baseline inventory of fish assemblages and associated aquatic and riparian habitats. At its inception, the AFFI program developed a systematic approach to rank and prioritize Alaska’s 139 subbasin-level hydrologic units. Subbasins were chosen because they most closely match the scale of the project study area of a typical helicopter-supported, regional baseline fish inventory. A survey priority index (SPI) of the subbasins was then developed based on: amount of past survey effort in the subbasin, removing lands considered to have adequate protection from anthropogenic degradation such as National Parks & Preserves, the ratio of current AWC coverage to the total length of all mapped streams within the subbasin, and a Human Activity Index (HAI) created by The Nature Conservancy (Feirer et al. 2006), assessing 4 types of human activities that could impact Alaska ecosystems. At the time of this proposal, the AFFI program has surveyed 68 of the 139 subbasins that were originally prioritized. This prioritization method has been documented by AFFI staff in an unpublished internal document that is available upon request.
The 74,982 square kilometer study area comprises all or some of the subbasins of the Upper Tanana River (e.g., Chena River, Healy Lake-Tanana River, Nebesna-Chisana River, Salcha River, Tok-Tanana River, and Upper Copper River subbasins) and in select subbasins of the Yukon River (e.g., Fortymile River and Ladue River-White River). The Upper Yukon region and a few of the more northeasterly subbasins of the Tanana River will be sampled in 2019. The remaining upper Tanana River subbasins and any other remaining subbasins in the entire upper Yukon and upper Tanana region will be sampled in 2020 and if necessary, 2021.
Target stream selection
The number of headwater streams in the study area will exceed the project’s limited sampling effort capacity; therefore, a subset of mapped streams, comprising the longest stream segments not currently listed in the AWC, will be selected as target streams. The headwater team will sample approximately six to eight headwater streams per day and the raft team will float and sample one un-wadeable stream per day, including a reach from all mainstem rivers in the study area.
Based on past AFFI projects, it is estimated that a minimum of 72 headwater target streams will be sampled, and 12 un-wadeable target streams will be rafted and sampled during the course of the 12 field days. However, project staff are pursuing additional funding opportunities and anticipate being able to complete a full 20-day field survey, which would allow field staff to sample a minimum of 100 headwater target streams and approximately 20 un-wadeable target streams provided there are no other weather or logistical problems preventing sampling all 20 days.
Sampling methods
At selected reaches, the fish community will be sampled with standardized methods and effort, according to AFFI protocols. Fish will typically be collected by single-pass electrofishing (other non-lethal gear types, such as beach seines, angling or minnow traps, may be deployed if conditions prohibit safe or effective electrofishing). Electrofishing is the principal fish collection gear because it is recognized as the most comprehensive and effective method for collecting fish in lotic systems.
At all target streams, a length of stream (referred to as a reach) standardized by stream width (i.e., 40 or 120 wetted-channel-widths in wadeable and un-wadeable target streams, respectively, or in large rivers, the maximum length of stream that can be sampled in 1 day), will be sampled to include all aquatic habitat types within that reach. Collected fish will be identified to species, tallied, fork length measured, and examined for external abnormalities. Additionally, standard water chemistry, channel morphology, and riparian habitat parameters will be recorded at each sample site. To enhance data quality and completeness and data entry efficiency, all collected data will be entered each day into an integrated database installed on a notebook computer.
Usage notes
Read the metadata file for assistance with the dataset.
Data can be visualized here:
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/SARR/AWC/index.cfm?ADFG=main.interactive
Once in the mapper, the default visual is the Anadromous Waters Catalog. Clicking on the "AFFI" tab along the top banner produces all the site visits by this project.
For more help, click the red 'User Guide' link in the secondary banner above the map.
Funding
Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, Award: 53013