Efficacy of baited remote underwater video systems and bait type in the cool-temperature zone for monitoring ‘no-take’ marine reserves

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aidan T. Walsh ◽  
Neville Barrett ◽  
Nicole Hill
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Marine Reserves ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Cool Temperature ◽  
Underwater Video ◽  
Temperate Reef ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Cool Temperate ◽  
Video Systems

Cool-temperate reef fish assemblages are often poorly described below 20m because of depth limitations of conventional diver-based visual census. The recent development of baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) provide an alternative quantitative sampling method. Despite being used in warmer temperate and tropical waters and cool-temperate waters in Victoria, initial trials of vertical BRUVs in Tasmania, Australia, provided poor results. Our study explored possible reasons for this, including using horizontal BRUVs and various baits across a depth gradient. We examined the fish fauna in, and adjacent to, a small, but long-established, no-take marine reserve to assess the potential for BRUVs to enhance monitoring programs in exposed coastal environments. Significant differences in the fish assemblage were described relating to location, depth and bait type, with pilchards being an effective bait type. Fish abundance and species richness increased with depth. The research validated BRUVs for monitoring deep-reef systems in Tasmania, reinforced the importance of depth in structuring fish assemblages and identified the range of observable species in this region that may not be fully captured with diver-based surveys alone. Power analyses were conducted using the data generated here to inform the amount of replication needed to detect biologically meaningful differences in targeted fish assemblages in subsequent studies examining the response of no-take marine reserves to protection. This facilitates future assessments of the effectiveness of Tasmanian no-take reserves and allows for more broad-scale studies that can address a range of ecological and conservation questions.

Use of stereo baited remote underwater video systems to estimate the presence and size of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias)

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (7) ◽  
pp. 1391 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Harasti ◽  
K. A. Lee ◽  
R. Laird ◽  
R. Bradford ◽  
B. Bruce
Keyword(s):  
Relative Abundance ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
New South ◽  
Underwater Video ◽  
Carcharodon Carcharias ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Video Systems ◽  
Near Shore ◽  
Number Of Individuals ◽  
Non Destructive

Stereo baited remote underwater video systems (stereo-BRUVs) are commonly used to assess fish assemblages and, more recently, to record the localised abundance and size of sharks. The present study investigated the occurrence and size of white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) in the near-shore environment off Bennett’s Beach, part of a known nursery area for the species in central New South Wales, Australia. Six stereo-BRUV units were deployed approximately fortnightly between August and December 2015 for periods of 5h in depths of 7–14m. Stereo-BRUVs successfully recorded 34 separate sightings of 22 individual white sharks. The highest number of individuals detected during a single day survey was eight. All C. carcharias observed on stereo-BRUVs were juveniles ranging in size from 1.50 to 2.46-m total length (mean±s.e., 1.91±0.05m; n=22). The time to first appearance ranged from 15 to 299min (mean±s.e., 148±15min). This study demonstrates that the use of stereo-BRUVs is a viable, non-destructive method to obtain estimates of the size and presence of white sharks, and may be useful in estimating relative abundance in near-shore environments where white sharks are known to frequent.

scholarly journals The marine fishes of St Eustatius Island, northeastern Caribbean: an annotated, photographic catalog

ZooKeys ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1007 ◽  
pp. 145-180
Author(s):  
David Ross Robertson ◽  
Carlos J. Estapé ◽  
Allison M. Estapé ◽  
Ernesto Peña ◽  
Luke Tornabene ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Marine Fish ◽  
Research Effort ◽  
Marine Reserve ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Field Research ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Species List ◽  
Deep Reef ◽  
Marine Habitats

Sint Eustatius (Statia) is a 21 km2 island situated in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The most recent published sources of information on that island’s marine fish fauna is in two non-governmental organization reports from 2015–17 related to the formation of a marine reserve. The species-list in the 2017 report was based on field research in 2013–15 using SCUBA diving surveys, shallow “baited underwater video surveys” (BRUVs), and data from fishery surveys and scientific collections over the preceding century. That checklist comprised 304 species of shallow (mostly) and deep-water fishes. In 2017 the Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project surveyed deep-reef fishes at Statia using the crewed submersible Curasub. That effort recorded 120 species, including 59 new occurrences records. In March-May 2020, two experienced citizen scientists completed 62 SCUBA dives there and recorded 244 shallow species, 40 of them new records for Statia. The 2017–2020 research effort increased the number of species known from the island by 33.6% to 406. Here we present an updated catalog of that marine fish fauna, including voucher photographs of 280 species recorded there in 2017 and 2020. The Statia reef-fish fauna likely is incompletely documented as it has few small, shallow, cryptobenthic species, which are a major component of the regional fauna. A lack of targeted sampling is probably the major factor explaining that deficit, although a limited range of benthic marine habitats may also be contributing.

scholarly journals Performance of a baited underwater video system vs. the underwater visual census technique in assessing the structure of fish assemblages in a Mediterranean marine protected area

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 480
Author(s):  
GABRIELLA LA MANNA ◽  
IVAN GUALA ◽  
DANIELE GRECH ◽  
FRANCESCO PERRETTI ◽  
FABIO RONCHETTI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Protected Area ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Marine Protected Area ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Underwater Video ◽  
Visual Census ◽  
Underwater Visual Census ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
High Level

Accurate, rapid and cost-effective fish assemblage monitoring is fundamental for marine protected area (MPA) management as a pivotal tool to verify whether and to what extent MPA conservation objectives have been achieved and to redefine these objectives in the framework of an adaptive management. Recently, there has been a sharp increase in the number of video-based methods to study fish fauna, such as baited remote underwater video (BRUV) systems, that, depending on the objectives of the monitoring, can provide complementary or additional data to the more commonly used underwater visual census (UVC). Even though BRUV systems have been widely used in a wide range of geographic contexts and habitats, their use in the Mediterranean basin is still sporadic and the evaluation of the efficiency of BRUV systems and whether they can be used to complement other techniques needs investigation. Thus, the objective of this study was to assess the performance of a BRUV system in a Mediterranean MPA and to evaluate its effectiveness in assessing the structure of fish assemblages (abundance and species richness) by comparing estimates with those obtained by the UVC technique. The fish fauna were monitored by BRUV and UVC in the Capo Caccia – Isola Piana Marine Protected Area (Sardinia, Italy), in July and October-November 2020, at four sampling sites and two areas, hundreds of meters apart, for each site. Overall, 46 taxa and a total of 3620 individuals were observed by BRUV, while 36 taxa and a total of 2995 individuals were observed by UVC. The species first observed in front of the camera’s field of view and able to reach the maximum abundance were the planktivores (Chromis chromis and Oblada melanura) followed by several carnivorous species belonging to the families Labridae, Serranidae and Sparidae, and lastly two carnivores (Mullus surmuletus and Mugilidae spp.) and some high-level predators (Dentex dentex, Seriola dumerili, Sphyraena viridensis, Dicentrarchus labrax). The maximum species richness and abundance were reached between 39 and 50 min. The cumulative species richness increased until around 30 min. Species richness was higher during the BRUV compared to the UVC monitoring. The consistency in findings between BRUV and UVC and a better performance of BRUV in detecting some species (mainly high-level predators), supports BRUV as an additional technique for describing and quantifying species richness and abundance also in the Mediterranean Sea. Based on the results of this study, the advantages/disadvantages, shortcomings, suggestions and resources needed for the two techniques are outlined.

scholarly journals Complex yet fauna-deficient seagrass ecosystems at risk in southern Myanmar

2018 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 193-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin L. Jones ◽  
Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth ◽  
Robert Howard ◽  
Richard K.F. Unsworth
Keyword(s):  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Marine Ecosystems ◽  
Global Studies ◽  
Baseline Assessment ◽  
Underwater Video ◽  
Associated Fauna ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Marine Park ◽  
Video Systems ◽  
Seagrass Ecosystems

AbstractDependence on seafood across Southeast Asia is extensive. Myanmar is no exception, but the country’s provisioning marine ecosystems are threatened. Seagrass is one habitat that is frequently overlooked in management as an important fisheries resource, despite its nursery function. In Myanmar, research on seagrass habitats is particularly sparse, and as a result, our understanding of seagrass exploitation remains limited. In this study, we provide a baseline assessment of the seagrass-associated fish assemblages at four locations in the Myeik Archipelago in southern Myanmar using mono Baited Remote Underwater Video systems. Across the sites surveyed only 12 taxa of motile fauna were recorded. Relative to other regional and global studies, this figure is meagre. Our data adds to a growing literature suggesting that the marine ecosystems of Myanmar are in a worrying state. Despite the lack of recorded seagrass associated fauna, our study revealed minimal impacts to seagrass meadows from eutrophication or sedimentation, and the meadows included appeared to be healthy. The sites with the highest number of motile fauna were within Myanmar’s only National Marine Park offering some optimism for the effectiveness of protection, but further assessments are required to allow targeted management of Myanmar’s seagrass meadows.

Tidal fish connectivity of reef and sea grass habitats in the Indo-Pacific

2007 ◽  
Vol 87 (5) ◽  
pp. 1287-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard K.F. Unsworth ◽  
James J. Bell ◽  
David J. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Shallow Water ◽  
National Park ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Subsistence Fisheries ◽  
Tidal State ◽  
Sea Grass ◽  
Water Fish ◽  
Tidal Changes ◽  
Near Shore

The present study considered the influence of the tide on shallow water fish assemblages within the Wakatobi Marine National Park, Indonesia. Timed underwater visual observations were made across a gradient of intertidal to subtidal habitats from near-shore to reef crest at different tidal heights. Transient fish were found to dominate shallow water fish assemblages and the assemblage composition varied with tidal state. Fish assemblages were more diverse and abundant at higher tides in both coral and sea grass habitats, however, this was more pronounced within sea grass habitats. A tidal reduction from ≈2.0m to ≈0.8m (above chart datum) corresponded to a 30% reduction in fish abundance, while species richness also significantly decreased from 13.5 to 10.8 species per standardized timed observation. Fifty fish groups were reported from sea grass habitats with the most abundant being from the Engraulidae family and Lethrinus harak, which form important local subsistence fisheries. This research confirms the importance of tidal changes in structuring the fish fauna of Indonesian sea grass habitats and underlines the connectivity that exists between these habitats and nearby coral reefs.

scholarly journals Comparative Analysis of Distribution of Intertidal Fish Assemblages in Different Estuarine Systems on Northern Coast of Brazil

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milton Goncalves Silva Junior ◽  
Antonio Carlos Leal Castro ◽  
Ulrich Saint-Paul
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Fish Fauna ◽  
Estuarine Fish ◽  
Northern Coast ◽  
Tidal Creeks ◽  
Estuarine Systems ◽  
Using Data ◽  
High Dynamics

The northern coast of Brazil has more than 30 estuaries distributed along 650 km of coastline. These conditions favor the presence of relatively large fish communities in estuarine environments, but published information on the fish fauna in tidal creeks in northern Brazil is only available for some mangrove systems, and comparative studies between fish estuarine communities in different tidal creeks are less common. The choice of the study area was based on the fact that it has been poorly investigated with regard to estuarine fish fauna in comparison in mangrove tidal creeks using the same fishing gear. The objective of the present study was to compare the composition of the relative biomass of taxonomic, functional and ecological guilds of fish assemblages occurring in estuarine systems along the northern coast of Brazil. The study area of the present comparative analysis extended from the southeastern edge of the Marajoara Gulf to the western edge of the Maranhense Gulf. A comparative analysis among different estuarine systems was performed using data from other studies. The abundance of juveniles was greater in the Caeté, Curuçá and Cururuca estuaries than other estuaries. Cluster analysis separated the estuaries into two distinct groups and significant differences between these groups only exist in relation to geographical proximity. The present investigation indicates that the coastal region between the states of Pará and Maranhão is characterized by high dynamics and environmental heterogeneity, particularly with regard to changes in river discharge and tidal fluctuations. The present results underscore the importance of ecological information on ichthyofauna in tropical estuaries in order to include appropriate descriptors in conservation or restoration processes of marine communities and habitats.

A comparison of temperate reef fish assemblages recorded by three underwater stereo-video techniques

2005 ◽  
Vol 148 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianne L. Watson ◽  
Euan S. Harvey ◽  
Marti J. Anderson ◽  
Gary A. Kendrick
Keyword(s):  
Reef Fish ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Temperate Reef ◽  
Stereo Video ◽  
Temperate Reef Fish
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