Lake Ontario 2023 ESI: Freshwater Mussel and Insect Distribution Polygons

Vector polygons represent freshwater mussel and state listed insect distribution and concentration areas in the United States portion of Lake Ontario. The study area includes 13 islands and 12 major bays in New York. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in associated data tables designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill impact sensitivity based on biological resource distribution polygons.
• Mapping species concentration areas for freshwater mussels and state listed insects.
• Integrating spatial polygon data with associated tables on species abundance and seasonality.

Strengths

• Data characterizes environments by sensitivity to spilled oil, a defined ESI framework.
• Study area explicitly lists 13 islands and 12 major bays for clear geographic scope.
• Spatial data is designed to be used with associated tables containing species-specific attributes.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely contains data from environmental surveys and biological assessments.

Time Range

2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 22:30:58.197080; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United States portion of Lake Ontario, covering specific islands and bays in New York.