Comparing Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Vessel-based Tracking Performance for Locating Acoustically Tagged Fish

Eiler, John H.; Grothues, Thomas M.; Dobarro, Joseph A.; Masuda, Michele

doi:10.7755/mfr.75.4.2

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Our results indicate that even though the AUV is moving, and the conditions change throughout the mission, the AUV integrated re ceivers performed at least as well as an individual receiver within the gates. This suggests that AUVs are effective and complementary telemetry assets (Eiler et al 2013). In addition, the complementary information about in situ environmental conditions and the capability of detecting telemetered animals outside of the bounds of a moored acoustic array provide significant value to existing telemetry arrays.…”

Section: Auvs As Effective Telemetry Assetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of a coastal shark species estimated from an autonomous underwater vehicle

Haulsee¹,

Breece²,

Miller³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Quantifying habitat selection in marine organisms is challenging because it is difficult to obtain species location information with multiple corresponding habitat measurements. In the ocean, habitat conditions vary on many spatiotemporal scales, which have important consequences for habitat selection. While macroscale biotic and abiotic features influence seasonal movements (spatial scales of 100−1000 km), selectivity of conditions on mesoscales (1−100 km) reflects an animal's response to the local environment. In this study, we examined habitat selectivity by pairing acoustic telemetry with environmental habitat parameters measured by an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), and demonstrate that migrating sand tiger sharks Carcharias taurus along the East Coast of the USA did not randomly use the coastal environment. Of the variables examined, we found evidence to suggest that sand tigers were selecting their habitat based on distance to shore, salinity, and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). Notably, temperature was not predictive of habitat use in our study. We posit that during their coastal migration, sand tigers select for specific mesoscale coastal habitats that may inform navigation or feeding behaviors. To our knowledge, this is the first empirical measure of mesoscale habitat selection by a coastal marine organism using an AUV. The applications of this method extend beyond the habitat selectivity of sand tigers, and will prove useful for future studies combining in situ observations of marine habitats and animal observations.

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Section: Auvs As Effective Telemetry Assetsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitat selection of a coastal shark species estimated from an autonomous underwater vehicle

Haulsee¹,

Breece²,

Miller³

et al. 2015

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have demonstrated superior performance for telemetering marine animals (fish and crabs) tagged with coded acoustic transmitters (Eiler et al ). Telemetry, specified for this paper as acoustic tag detection by a hydrophone distinct from telemetry as messages between a remote vehicle and user, has become an important tool for ecological and stock assessment research.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moored hydrophones are useful for experimental designs meant to synoptically detect the presence or passage of multiple tagged animals over long periods, but must defer to costly and laborious vessel‐based tracking for information on animals beyond the array detection limits on the order of km. AUVs can perform some of these tasks (Grothues et al ; Oliver et al ; Haulsee et al ; Breece et al ), which then benefit from deeper, quieter hydrophone positioning (Eiler et al ; Oliver et al ). The application is further justified because other on‐board sensors can provide proximal information on the surrounding habitat, making it possible to integrate fish telemetry data with geomorphic and environmental data (Grothues et al ; Oliver et al ; Haulsee et al , see Lennox et al for a review of telemetry challenges and projections).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…This problem is solved by the development of payload control software that allows the vehicle to alter its pre‐programmed movements based on information from an integrated telemetry hydrophone. The engineering task is challenged by uncertainty in the signal‐receive behavior in unknown field conditions, by uncertainty regarding the clustering or dispersal of multiple tagged animals with overlapping detection range, by geographical or bathymetric constraints, and by operational constraints related to AUV mission duration, timing, and AUV deployment and recovery (Grothues et al ; Eiler et al ). Specifically, course deviations should be predictable as to where they maneuver relative to the tag to achieve the desired synthetic aperture, they should not trap the vehicle in a feedback loop, they should not allow the AUV to run into known underwater obstacles such as shoals or walls (White et al ), or execute while the support vessel is in proximity for deployment or recovery, and should not allow it to exceed an expected mission time.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Acoustic‐telemetry payload control of an autonomous underwater vehicle for mapping tagged fish

Dodson

Grothues²,

Eiler

et al. 2018

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have demonstrated superior performance for tracking marine animals tagged with individually coded acoustic transmitters. However, AUVs engaged in mapping the distribution of multiple tagged fish have not previously been able to alter search paths to achieve precise position estimates. This problem is solved by the development of payload control software (Synthetic Aperture Override, SAOVR) that allows the AUV to maneuver with trajectories favorable for solving the tag's location from a synthetic aperture. Upon tag detection during a default mission search path, SAOVR (running on an embedded guest computer) seeks permission to take over navigation from the vehicle's native system after checking constraints of geography, timing, tag identification, signal strength, and current navigation state. Permitted maneuvers are then chosen from a template library and executed before returning the AUV to the point of first deviation for continued searching of other tags. Field evaluation on moored reference tags showed a high level of predictability in the AUV's behavior at SAOVR initiation and through maneuvers. Trials suggest that this logic system is highly beneficial to AUV use for fish telemetry in challenging environments such as narrow, deep fjords, or among reefs. Any mission programmed with the AUV's native software can be run with the SAOVR package to allow scientists to easily implement and manipulate synthetic aperture geometries without altering any of the software. Further modeling can help improve template design specific to expected movements of different fish species and relative to the designation of signal strength-defined execution thresholds.

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“…Acoustic telemetry, defined here as the detection of fish and other aquatic animals tagged with acoustic transmitters and located using submerged hydrophones, can provide detailed information on the distribution, movements, and habitat use of marine species. Recent advances in equipment (e.g., miniaturization of transmitter components, encoded transmitter signals) and tracking capabilities have substantially enhanced the utility of this approach (Welch et al 2011;Adams et al 2012;Pincock and Johnston 2012;Eiler et al 2013). Acoustic telemetry has numerous advantages over more conventional tagging and recovery methods, which provide information based solely on where the tagged individuals were recaptured and can be biased by disproportional recovery efforts, vulnerability to capture, and variable reporting rates (Seber 1973;Buckland 1980).…”

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confidence: 99%

Tagging Response and Postspawning Movements of Pacific Herring, a Small Pelagic Forage Fish Sensitive to Handling

Eiler

Bishop

2016

Trans Am Fish Soc

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Pacific Herring Clupea pallasii are an important forage fish in the northern Pacific Ocean and support commercial fisheries throughout the region, although numerous populations have experienced pronounced declines in abundance. Acoustic telemetry can enhance our understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of depressed herring populations. However, herring are extremely sensitive to handling. During 2012-2013, we tagged 94 adult herring with acoustic transmitters on their spawning grounds in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The handling and tagging methods were specifically designed to minimize physical injuries and stress. Receiver arrays located near the spawning area (2012)(2013) and at the principal entrances into the sound from the Gulf of Alaska (2013) were used to track the postspawning movements of the fish. The herring responded well to the tagging procedures. Most were subsequently detected by the arrays, ranging from 88.0% in 2012 to 92.8% in 2013, when the entire tracking system was operational. Forty-three (67.2%) of the 64 fish detected during 2013 were recorded near entrances to the sound, representing minimum travel distances of 50-180 km. Initial movements during the spring and summer were generally to the southwest and mirrored the prevailing currents, but a number of fish were subsequently observed moving east, including one individual detected near the spawning area during the late fall and winter. Larger herring were more frequently detected near the entrances to the sound. Although it is possible that smaller fish exhibit different migratory patterns, the lower detection rate may also suggest that these individuals were adversely affected by the tagging. Our findings suggest that large-scale telemetry studies on pelagic forage fish such as herring are feasible. These data provide new insights into the migratory patterns of herring and present an opportunity to address ongoing questions related to the factors affecting the status and recovery of depressed populations.

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Comparing Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Vessel-based Tracking Performance for Locating Acoustically Tagged Fish

Abstract: ABSTRACT-Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV's) are increasingly used to collect physical, chemical, and biological information

Cited by 21 publications

References 45 publications

Habitat selection of a coastal shark species estimated from an autonomous underwater vehicle

Habitat selection of a coastal shark species estimated from an autonomous underwater vehicle

Acoustic‐telemetry payload control of an autonomous underwater vehicle for mapping tagged fish

Tagging Response and Postspawning Movements of Pacific Herring, a Small Pelagic Forage Fish Sensitive to Handling

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