Description: The species diversity database captures observation records of (mostly) nongame species as point locations and includes Idaho's at-risk vertebrates and invertebrates (referred to in the Idaho Wildlife Comprehensive Conservation Strategy (CWCS) as Species of Greatest Conservation Need or SGCN). Records are based on information provided by a variety of individuals, including Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff, federal agency personnel, state agency personnel, academic researchers, and, in some cases, the general public.
Service Item Id: d928785c2d9a4859a490b31dafd5a2a8
Copyright Text: Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System, Species Diversity Database. Idaho Natural Heritage Data. Accessed 8 September 2017.
Description: Presence and potential presence of fish in streams. Potential Presence or Distribution data extrapolates from presence data to describe what species would probably be found in similar habitat for which there might not be any data. It is not necessary to sample every waterbody to determine which species occur where. The purpose is to have a value for every stream (or stream segment) and thereby show the full extent of a specie's distribution. An example would be the data from the presence-absence database in FisRef: It has a value for every 1:100k EPA River Reach number in Idaho. The value is based upon the expert opinion of fisheries biologists and their knowledge of fish habitat and use. Presence data describes what species were found by sampling (sometimes not found) for a given place, time, and method. The purpose is to document the presence for a given fraction of a specie's range based upon actual observations. Often, only a target species and a few incidental species were enumerated. Therefore, one cannot say that a species absolutely does not occur for a given waterbody. Fish move and waterbodies change. The probability that a species is or is not detected increases with the number of suveys. Therefore, one would not query for one record of presence for a waterbody in order to answer the question "what fish are in this stream or lake". It would be better to query for all records of presence (or absence). The data from the FIS Ref and GIS are mostly from published documents (reviewed by peers) and expert opinion. That data is more reliable than some of the raw, FishData survey data. The source documents are archived at IDFG and/or CRITFC libraries. The expert opinion used to generate the distribution updates is an extrapolation of the survey observations and published reports. Every water body cannot be surveyed. Therefore, findings from surveyed segments of water bodies are also applied to similar water bodies that are not surveyed. There are usually multiple surveys for a species per stream segment. The GIS distribution data should overlap most of the other data because it is, by definition, the estimated extent of distribution for a species at a given time. The other data are smaller segments that provide a detailed snapshot (or index) of the bigger GIS data. The FishData references are mostly surveys by IDFG regional personnel. They were stored in a wide variety of database formats (Dbase, Word documents, Excel workbooks, Lotus spreadsheets, Paradox databases, Access datases, etc.). The FisColp references are from the IDFG Collectors Permit files (IDFGHQ). They are the reports sent to IDFG by people given collectors permits. They were historically quite incomplete: Sometimes a stream name and a common name of game fish only were reported. A specific section of stream and scientific name was not supplied. The process has been refined and the quality of the data is much improved. GPS coordinates and scientific names of both game and non-game species of fish and amphibians, reptiles are often included. Shapefiles have been included to aid in analysis of the data. Hydrologic Unit Codes (HUC) are provided at the 4th and 6th code levels. The massive amounts of data can be selected for an area of interest and "whittled down to size" using the HUCs. Do's and Don'ts: Do use this presence data to get a snapshot of fish distribution for a given time, place, and methodology which can be extrapolated to similar water bodies. Do not use this presence data to say that there absolutely are not fish in this stream forever (check dates, methods, etc.). Do use the distribution data to get an estimate of the extent of a specie's range.
Description: These data include documented historic, extirpated, and extant occurrences of special status nonvascular and vascular plants. It is necessary to look at the associated database record for any given occurrence to understand it fully. WHERE THE DATA COMES FROM. Occurrence records are based on information provided by a variety of individuals, including Idaho Department of Fish and Game staff, federal agency personnel, state agency personnel, academic researchers, and, in a few cases, the general public. WHAT'S AN OCCURRENCE. An element occurrence is NatureServe's basic unit of record for documenting and delimiting the presence and extent of a species on the landscape. Element occurrences, or “EOs,” are defined as an area of land and/or water where a species is, or was, present, and which has practical conservation value. For plants, an occurrence often corresponds with the local population, but it might also be a portion of a population or an aggregation of populations (i.e., a metapopulation). The Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System (IFWIS) dataset is dynamic, meaning that (a) some species (particularly plant species) are dropped each year because as they are found to be common, under no threat, or because they have been misidentified; (b) better and more recent information on existing occurrences results in changes to database records; (c) taxonomy has changed; or (d) taxa are added to the tracking list. Because of the dynamic nature of the data set, each new export completely replaces any previous export in order to ensure that current data are being used for planning purposes.
Service Item Id: d928785c2d9a4859a490b31dafd5a2a8
Copyright Text: Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Idaho Fish and Wildlife Information System, Species Diversity Database, Idaho Natural Heritage Data, Plant Element Occurrence database. Accessed on 14 August 2017.