Iowa DNR
BioNet
River & Stream Biological Monitoring
Fish and Benthic Macroinvertebrate Surveys
Physical Habitat Assessments
BioNet Documentation

FHI Suboptimal Parameters

During the development of the Fish Habitat Index (FHI), a new composite metric, Percentage of Suboptimal Habitat Metrics (PctSubOpt), was among the metrics that most strongly correlated to the FIBI. To calculate PctSubOpt, data for twenty-five individual habitat metrics are compared against suboptimal thresholds that were identified through graphical and quantitative analysis.

These habitat metrics, along with their thresholds, are as follows:

Category Description Abbrv. 2016 Adjusted Suboptimum Ranges (used in calculator)
Bank % Horizontal (0-15 degrees) bnkahz% <2.5 or >67.5
Bank % Moderate (20-50 degrees) bnkamd% <17.5
Bank % Vertical (55-110 degrees) bnkavr% >42.5
Bank Streambank - Average Percent Bare bnkbare% <17 or >93.75
Canopy/Shade Average Percent of Channel Shaded chshdav% <8.2 or >89.5
Canopy/Shade Standard Deviation - Percent of Channel Shaded chshdsd% <10.2
Dimension Transect Depth - Average dpthav >1.41
Dimension Transect Depth - Coefficient of Variation dpthcv <0.46
Dimension Maximum Depth maxdep <1.62
Dimension Stream Width - Average strwdtav <13.6
Dimension Stream Width - Standard Deviation strwdtsd <3.41
Dimension Thalweg Depth - Average thwgdpav <0.55
Dimension Thalweg Depth : Stream Width Ratio thwgwdr <10.3 or >54.7
Instream Cover Depth/Pool - Average Percent - DNR Method cvrdpl% >20.6
Instream Cover Total Proportional Areal Cover - EPA Method cvrepa% <13.25
Instream Cover Overhanging Vegetation - Average Percent cvrovhg% >10.4
Instream Cover Woody Debris - Average Percent cvrwdbrs% <0.25 or >14
Macrohabitat Maximum macrohabitat type proportion rchmxhb% >90.3
Macrohabitat Pool rchpool% <5.4 or >84.8
Substrate Coarse Rock Embededness - Average embdrtg >3.4
Substrate Clay subclay% >17
Substrate Clay+Silt+Sand subfines% >84.5
Substrate Grvl+Cbbl+Bldr subrock% <11.5
Substrate Silt subsilt% >38.5
Substrate Maximum substrate type proportion substrmx% >82.5

This page was created 5/30/2018 8:06:49 AM