Aquatic ecosystem classification for Ontario (AEC)

The aquatic ecosystem classification (AEC) is a science-based tool that groups and classifies Ontario’s rivers and streams based on their:

physical attributes, such as water temperature
watershed characteristics, such as upstream drainage area

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) is responsible for sustainably managing and deriving economic benefit from the fisheries and water resources in the 490,000 km of Ontario’s rivers and streams.

The AEC reduces the complexity of these vast aquatic networks using consistent and quantitative methods to build a standardized data foundation that helps MNRF staff with landscape level planning and policy development.

Ministry contact: AEC@ontario.ca

Additional information

Tags: aquatic aquatic

ecosystem ecosystem

classification classification

AEC AEC

lotic lotic

river river

stream stream

ecology ecology

segment segment

environment and nat... environment and natural resources
Geographic coverage: Ontario
Geography Breakdown: Watershed
Maintainer branch: Science and Research Branch
Last Validated Date: May 31, 2023
Update frequency: On demand