Evaluating Performance of Photographs for Marine Citizen Science Applications

Newcomer, Katherine; Tracy, Brianna M.; Chang, Andrew L.; Ruiz, Gregory M.

doi:10.3389/fmars.2019.00336

Cited by 12 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(85 reference statements)

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“…Because it can be difficult to identify species even with detailed morphological analyses (Newcomer et al 2019), we maximized the precision of this photo analysis by training the photo observer on life communities sampled and analyzed in the laboratory. We conducted a quality assessment of our photo analysis by comparing data from the panels sampled in 2019, that were analyzed with imageanalysis and taxonomic analysis in the laboratory.…”

Section: Photographic Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent dominance of non-indigenous species in the inner part of a marina highlighted by multi-year photographic monitoring

Rondeau

Davoult

Lejeusne

et al. 2022

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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As a result of urbanization, coastal environments are being disturbed by various anthropogenic pressures. These are concentrated in harbor areas where the addition of artificial structures and the presence of pollutants seems to favor the settlement of non-indigenous species. Most studies on these organisms are often carried out in a single time window without integrating temporal variability. Here, we analyzed multi-year photographic data of marina communities taken from 3 experiments conducted between 2016 and 2019 in the same marina. These photographs were of recruitment plates placed at the inner, middle and entrance locations of the marina, permitting us to discern the community differences and the distribution of non-indigenous taxa between these 3 locations. Over the entire study period, the communities that grew at the entrance and the inner locations of the marina were always different. Non-indigenous taxa also appeared to be more prevalent in the inner location of the marina. Our results suggest that the presence of different environmental filters between the entrance and the inner location could explain these observations. We suggest this could be due to a pollution gradient, with high pollution at the inner location of the marina, and to competitive pressure exerted by the tunicate Ciona intestinalis at the marina entrance.

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Section: Photographic Processingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistent dominance of non-indigenous species in the inner part of a marina highlighted by multi-year photographic monitoring

Rondeau

Davoult

Lejeusne

et al. 2022

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…The monitoring was carried out for three consecutive years (2018-2020) by applying a standardized protocol developed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (Edgewater, MD, United States) that is being used to detect and track NIS in the U.S as well as Canada, Ecuador, and Panama (see also de Rivera et al, 2005;Gartner et al, 2016;Simkanin et al, 2016;Marraffini et al, 2017;Tracy et al, 2017;Chang et al, 2018;Jurgens et al, 2018;Newcomer et al, 2018Newcomer et al, , 2019Carlton, 2019;Torchin et al, 2021). A total of 50 PVC settlement panels (14 × 14 cm) were deployed in the summer of each year in the Gulf of La Spezia, allocating 10 panels in each site.…”

Section: Monitoring Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Non-indigenous Species in Port Habitats: First Application of a Standardized North American Protocol in the Mediterranean Sea

et al. 2021

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Baseline port monitoring for fouling communities is an essential tool to assess non-indigenous species (NIS) introduction and spread, but a standardized and coordinated method among Mediterranean and European countries has not yet been adopted. In this context, it is important to test monitoring protocols that allow for the collection of standardized and directly comparable data, replicated across time and space. Here, for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea, we tested a standardized protocol developed by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) and used now in several countries. The 3-year monitoring survey (2018–2020) was conducted in the Gulf of La Spezia (Ligurian Sea, Italy), with the deployment of a total of 50 PVC panels per year in five different sites (a commercial harbor, three marinas and a site in the proximity of a shellfish farm). A total of 79 taxa were identified, including 11 NIS, ranging from zero to seven NIS for each panel. In comparison with previous surveys, new NIS arrivals were observed in the Gulf of La Spezia: Botrylloides cf. niger, Branchiomma sp., Branchiomma luctuosum, Paraleucilla magna, and Watersipora arcuata. At the end of the 3-year monitoring, mean richness? and percent cover of NIS were measured, and both measures differed across the monitoring sites, with higher values in two marinas and in the commercial harbor. Among years, richness of NIS was relatively stable at each monitoring site. The structure of the fouling was influenced more by native and cryptogenic species than by NIS. Moreover, among the monitoring sites, the density of artificial structures was not a reliable predictor or proxy for local NIS abundance. This first application of the SERC method in the Mediterranean Sea, demonstrates both pros and cons, including the detection of new NIS reported here. Further direct comparisons with other NIS monitoring tools are recommended, and additional tests to assess its effectiveness in this biogeographical area are encouraged. A broader application of this and other standard methods across temporal and spatial scales in the Mediterranean basin should be implemented, providing critical data needed to assess changes in the structure of fouling communities.

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“…Moreover, species watch cards and a reporting system for target species could be set up for naturalist guides and visitors. Newcomer et al (2019) have shown that photographs taken by tourists have the potential to be used for marine invertebrate identifications, although they do not capture as many species as identifications of fouling communities in the laboratory. In Galapagos, the DiveStat program (Moity et al., 2019) has started collecting information about species sightings from tourists and park rangers, and could be complemented as to include characteristic NIS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uncovered pathways: Modelling dispersal dynamics of ship‐mediated marine introduced species

Letschert¹,

Wolff

Kluger

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Marine traffic is the main vector for marine non‐indigenous species (NIS) that may hitchhike in ballast water tanks or attached to vessel hulls. Understanding marine traffic dynamics and estimating the associated risk of NIS dispersal reveals points of leverage for preventive NIS management. This study presents a method to quantify the risk of ship hull fouling‐mediated NIS dispersal and identifies main dispersal hubs in marine traffic networks. We use the Galapagos Marine Reserve (GMR) as a case study to test the applicability of this method. Ship position data derived from the automatic identification system (AIS) served as a basis for a network consisting of nodes (moorings and anchorages) and edges (ship routes). Wetted surface areas (WSA) describe the parts of vessel hulls submerged by water and were used to parameterize dispersal risks of individual vessels. We combined the constructed network with a numeric dispersal model and sequentially removed network elements to test their effectiveness on decreasing the overall dispersal capacity. Marine traffic hotspots, such as ports and popular marine visitor sites, represented the main dispersal hubs and incoming edges into the GMR crucial links for the overall dispersal capacity. The removal of passenger vessels had the strongest effect on the overall dispersal capacity, reducing it to 1%. Based on our findings, we suggest management recommendations to curb the spread of marine NIS in the GMR, including the implementations of (a) vessel hull controls at main dispersal hubs (ports); (b) species monitoring programmes at popular marine visitor sites and (c) hull husbandry regulations for passenger vessels. Synthesis and application. In an increasingly connected world, the development of risk assessments for marine non‐indigenous species (NIS) dispersal is a crucial step towards the sustainable use and protection of marine ecosystems in Galapagos and other places. The presented methodology is solely based on the pathway component and thus applicable to any place with available ship position data. Therefore, it may provide useful baseline information for preventive measurements especially in places where ecological data about NIS are scarce.

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Evaluating Performance of Photographs for Marine Citizen Science Applications

Cited by 12 publications

References 63 publications

Persistent dominance of non-indigenous species in the inner part of a marina highlighted by multi-year photographic monitoring

Persistent dominance of non-indigenous species in the inner part of a marina highlighted by multi-year photographic monitoring

Monitoring Non-indigenous Species in Port Habitats: First Application of a Standardized North American Protocol in the Mediterranean Sea

Uncovered pathways: Modelling dispersal dynamics of ship‐mediated marine introduced species

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