To better understand the status of Lake Trout and Brook Trout populations across the Algonquin Provincial Park landscape 192 index netting surveys were conducted on 161 lakes utilizing standardized multimesh benthic gillnets between the years 2009 and 2022.

Index netting was conducted using a depth-stratified randomized site survey design and employed multi-pass sampling on a majority of the lakes to provide the opportunity for occupancy analysis. Two primary netting methods were employed; Summer Profundal Index Netting (SPIN) for Lake Trout populations sampled between 2009-2012; and a modified Ontario Broadscale Monitoring (BsM) method we refer to as Short Duration Point Sampling (SDPS). The SDPS method uses the large mesh BsM nets (NA1) deployed for a one-hour duration within the same depth strata used in the BsM program with a sampling intensity in each stratum proportional to the surface area. The overall sampling intensity (nets/lake) is greater than that employed in the BsM program as we are interested in lake-specific analyses. 

This data dryad provides general information on each lake sampled including lake characteristics, lake volumes, netting site locations, and spring water chemistry.  

This dataset was collected by field crews based on the Harkness Laboratory of Fisheries Research between the years 2009 - 2022. Field activities included spring water chemistry sampling, digital bathymetry surveys, and fisheries index netting. 

Sample collection for spring water chemistry was conducted shortly after ice out and analyses were conducted by the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, and Parks, Dorset Lab. 

Digital bathymetry data were collected in the spring on each lake using GPS depth sounders. Lake volume in 1m depth increments was calculated using ArcGIS from the resulting bathymetry rasters. 

Index netting was conducted using a depth-stratified randomized site survey design and employed multi-pass sampling on a majority of the lakes to provide the opportunity for occupancy analysis. Two primary netting methods were employed; Summer Profundal Index Netting (SPIN) for Lake Trout populations sampled between 2009-2012; and a modified Ontario Broadscale Monitoring (BsM) method we refer to as Short Duration Point Sampling (SDPS). The SDPS method uses the large mesh BsM nets (NA1) deployed for a one-hour duration within the same depth strata used in the BsM program with a sampling intensity in each stratum proportional to the surface area. The overall sampling intensity (nets/lake) is greater than that employed in the BsM program as we are interested in lake-specific analyses. Many of the lakes surveyed using the SPDS method were conducted using multipass sampling where each site was sampled a minimum of three times over the course of the survey. 

All of the provided files are in csv format and should be readable by a variety of software.