Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean
Abstract Background Many ecologically and commercially important species occur in the epipelagic marine environment and have been observed to spend a considerable amount of time associating with surface structure. The bottom depth of this habitat often exceeds transmission (~ 500-1000 m) and receive...
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| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Animal Biotelemetry |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-024-00395-w |
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| author | Eric V. C. Schneider Brendan S. Talwar David M. Bailey Shaun S. Killen Dale M. Webber Courtney E. MacSween Travis E. Van Leeuwen Frank I. Smith |
| author_facet | Eric V. C. Schneider Brendan S. Talwar David M. Bailey Shaun S. Killen Dale M. Webber Courtney E. MacSween Travis E. Van Leeuwen Frank I. Smith |
| author_sort | Eric V. C. Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Many ecologically and commercially important species occur in the epipelagic marine environment and have been observed to spend a considerable amount of time associating with surface structure. The bottom depth of this habitat often exceeds transmission (~ 500-1000 m) and receiver (500–750 m) range specifications for commonly used acoustic telemetry methods that rely on an array of receivers deployed on the seafloor with overlapping fields of detection to provide positioning of acoustically tagged individuals. This poses logistical challenges for tracking the fine-scale movements, behaviors, and associations to moored and free-floating structure of these species. Acoustic telemetry can provide high resolution positioning data for tagged animals within an array of receivers with overlapping fields of detection; however, this technique has not been applied in deep open-ocean environments off the benthos. Results Herein, we detail the development of a novel vertical acoustic telemetry array that can be mounted on, or suspended from, various moored and free-floating structures in the open ocean, thus facilitating high resolution tracking of structure-associated epipelagic animals. This new ‘vertical acoustic array’ (VAR) allows for the calculation of a transmitter’s distance from the array and depth with average error around these metrics ranging from 16.2 to 54.8 m (distance error) and 8.6 to 61.5 m (depth error) within the tested range (~ 500 m radius around the array, ~ 300 m deep). We also validated the ability of the VAR to inform the association of an epipelagic species to surface structure by calculating fine-scale positioning for a great barracuda around a fish aggregating device (FAD), which on average was 27.9 ± 2.9 m away at a depth of 9.3 ± 0.4 m over a 9-day tracking period, demonstrating high association with the structure. Conclusions This new array is able to provide two-dimensional (distance away and depth) animal behavior data around natural and anthropogenic moored and free-floating structures in open-ocean environments where bottom depths often exceed transmission (~ 1000 m) and receiver (~ 500 m) range specifications of traditional bottom moored positioning arrays. This array can also be used to quantitatively assess associations of epipelagic species beyond presence/absence using a single receiver, advancing the potential to improve understanding of the interactions between pelagic fauna and anthropogenic structures such as wind turbines, oil rigs, and fish aggregation devices. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-be11b5e4ccd14fd9800e406a0085722c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2050-3385 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animal Biotelemetry |
| spelling | doaj-art-be11b5e4ccd14fd9800e406a0085722c2025-01-12T12:12:29ZengBMCAnimal Biotelemetry2050-33852025-01-0113111210.1186/s40317-024-00395-wDetermination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open oceanEric V. C. Schneider0Brendan S. Talwar1David M. Bailey2Shaun S. Killen3Dale M. Webber4Courtney E. MacSween5Travis E. Van Leeuwen6Frank I. Smith7Exuma Sound Ecosystem Research Project, Cape Eleuthera InstituteExuma Sound Ecosystem Research Project, Cape Eleuthera InstituteSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences, University of GlasgowSchool of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary, and Life Sciences, University of GlasgowInnovaseaInnovaseaFisheries and Oceans CanadaInnovaseaAbstract Background Many ecologically and commercially important species occur in the epipelagic marine environment and have been observed to spend a considerable amount of time associating with surface structure. The bottom depth of this habitat often exceeds transmission (~ 500-1000 m) and receiver (500–750 m) range specifications for commonly used acoustic telemetry methods that rely on an array of receivers deployed on the seafloor with overlapping fields of detection to provide positioning of acoustically tagged individuals. This poses logistical challenges for tracking the fine-scale movements, behaviors, and associations to moored and free-floating structure of these species. Acoustic telemetry can provide high resolution positioning data for tagged animals within an array of receivers with overlapping fields of detection; however, this technique has not been applied in deep open-ocean environments off the benthos. Results Herein, we detail the development of a novel vertical acoustic telemetry array that can be mounted on, or suspended from, various moored and free-floating structures in the open ocean, thus facilitating high resolution tracking of structure-associated epipelagic animals. This new ‘vertical acoustic array’ (VAR) allows for the calculation of a transmitter’s distance from the array and depth with average error around these metrics ranging from 16.2 to 54.8 m (distance error) and 8.6 to 61.5 m (depth error) within the tested range (~ 500 m radius around the array, ~ 300 m deep). We also validated the ability of the VAR to inform the association of an epipelagic species to surface structure by calculating fine-scale positioning for a great barracuda around a fish aggregating device (FAD), which on average was 27.9 ± 2.9 m away at a depth of 9.3 ± 0.4 m over a 9-day tracking period, demonstrating high association with the structure. Conclusions This new array is able to provide two-dimensional (distance away and depth) animal behavior data around natural and anthropogenic moored and free-floating structures in open-ocean environments where bottom depths often exceed transmission (~ 1000 m) and receiver (~ 500 m) range specifications of traditional bottom moored positioning arrays. This array can also be used to quantitatively assess associations of epipelagic species beyond presence/absence using a single receiver, advancing the potential to improve understanding of the interactions between pelagic fauna and anthropogenic structures such as wind turbines, oil rigs, and fish aggregation devices.https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-024-00395-wAcoustic telemetryPelagicFine-scale positioningAnimal trackingStructureFish behavior |
| spellingShingle | Eric V. C. Schneider Brendan S. Talwar David M. Bailey Shaun S. Killen Dale M. Webber Courtney E. MacSween Travis E. Van Leeuwen Frank I. Smith Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean Animal Biotelemetry Acoustic telemetry Pelagic Fine-scale positioning Animal tracking Structure Fish behavior |
| title | Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| title_full | Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| title_fullStr | Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| title_short | Determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| title_sort | determination of distance away and depth of transmitters relative to a vertical acoustic telemetry array in the open ocean |
| topic | Acoustic telemetry Pelagic Fine-scale positioning Animal tracking Structure Fish behavior |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s40317-024-00395-w |
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