<s>
Geographic	B-Application
Information	I-Application
Systems	I-Application
(	O
GIS	B-Application
)	O
has	O
become	O
an	O
integral	O
part	O
of	O
aquatic	O
science	O
and	O
limnology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Agencies	O
like	O
the	O
US	O
Geological	O
Survey	O
,	O
US	O
Fish	O
and	O
Wildlife	O
Service	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
federal	O
and	O
state	O
agencies	O
are	O
utilizing	O
GIS	B-Application
to	O
aid	O
in	O
their	O
conservation	O
efforts	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
being	O
used	O
in	O
multiple	O
fields	O
of	O
aquatic	O
science	O
from	O
limnology	O
,	O
hydrology	O
,	O
aquatic	O
botany	O
,	O
stream	O
ecology	O
,	O
oceanography	O
and	O
marine	O
biology	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
can	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
track	O
invasive	O
species	O
,	O
endangered	O
species	O
,	O
and	O
population	O
changes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
past	O
,	O
GIS	B-Application
was	O
not	O
a	O
practical	O
source	O
of	O
analysis	O
due	O
to	O
the	O
difficulty	O
in	O
obtaining	O
spatial	O
data	O
on	O
habitats	O
or	O
organisms	O
in	O
underwater	O
environments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
advancement	O
of	O
radio	O
telemetry	O
,	O
hydroacoustic	O
telemetry	O
and	O
side-scan	O
sonar	O
biologists	O
have	O
been	O
able	O
to	O
track	O
fish	O
species	O
and	O
create	O
databases	O
that	O
can	O
be	O
incorporated	O
into	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
program	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
geographical	O
representation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Now	O
this	O
data	O
can	O
be	O
entered	O
into	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
program	O
and	O
be	O
layered	O
,	O
organized	O
and	O
analyzed	O
in	O
a	O
way	O
that	O
was	O
not	O
possible	O
to	O
do	O
in	O
the	O
past	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Layering	O
within	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
program	O
allows	O
for	O
the	O
scientist	O
to	O
look	O
at	O
multiple	O
species	O
at	O
once	O
to	O
find	O
possible	O
watersheds	O
that	O
are	O
shared	O
by	O
these	O
species	O
,	O
or	O
to	O
specifically	O
choose	O
one	O
species	O
for	O
further	O
examination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
US	O
Geological	O
Survey	O
(	O
USGS	O
)	O
in	O
,	O
cooperation	O
with	O
other	O
agencies	O
,	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
use	O
GIS	B-Application
in	O
helping	O
map	O
out	O
habitat	O
areas	O
and	O
movement	O
patterns	O
of	O
pallid	O
sturgeon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
the	O
Columbia	O
Environmental	O
Research	O
Center	O
their	O
effort	O
relies	O
on	O
a	O
customized	O
ArcPad	B-Application
and	O
ArcGIS	B-Application
,	O
both	O
ESRI	O
(	O
Environmental	O
Systems	O
Research	O
Institute	O
)	O
applications	O
,	O
to	O
record	O
sturgeon	O
movements	O
to	O
streamline	O
data	O
collection	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
is	O
being	O
used	O
by	O
agencies	O
and	O
their	O
respective	O
resource	O
managers	O
as	O
a	O
tool	O
to	O
model	O
these	O
important	O
macrophyte	O
species	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
resource	O
managers	O
can	O
assess	O
the	O
distributions	O
of	O
this	O
important	O
aspect	O
of	O
aquatic	O
environments	O
through	O
a	O
spatial	O
and	O
temporal	O
scale	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
ability	O
to	O
track	O
vegetation	O
change	O
through	O
time	O
and	O
space	O
to	O
make	O
predictions	O
about	O
vegetation	O
change	O
are	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
many	O
possibilities	O
of	O
GIS	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
established	O
a	O
web	O
link	O
to	O
an	O
Environmental	O
Systems	O
Research	O
Institute	O
(	O
ESRI	O
)	O
ArcGIS	B-Application
Server	O
website	O
*	O
to	O
make	O
their	O
model	O
predictions	O
available	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
allows	O
managers	O
to	O
map	O
out	O
plant	O
locations	O
and	O
abundances	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Surveys	O
of	O
these	O
species	O
can	O
be	O
conducted	O
and	O
then	O
downloaded	O
into	O
a	O
GIS	B-Application
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
using	O
known	O
data	O
of	O
preexisting	O
invasive	O
species	O
GIS	B-Application
models	O
could	O
predict	O
future	O
outbreaks	O
by	O
comparing	O
biological	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Connecticut	O
Agricultural	O
Experiment	O
Station	O
Invasive	O
Aquatic	O
Species	O
Program	O
(	O
CAES	O
IAPP	O
)	O
is	O
using	O
GIS	B-Application
to	O
evaluate	O
risk	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
GIS	B-Application
allows	O
managers	O
to	O
georeference	B-General_Concept
plant	O
locations	O
and	O
abundance	O
.	O
</s>
