Pop-up satellite archival tag (PSAT) temporal data resolution affects interpretations of spawning behaviour of a commercially important teleost

Abstract

Background:The effects of temporal data resolution on the interpretation of fish behaviours are questions fundamental to research programs using electronic tags with finite data storage and data transmission capacities. However, understanding these effects requires sub-sampling high-resolution data at multiple temporal resolutions. In pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs), data transmissions via satellite are limited, so temporal resolution is a decreasing function of the deployment duration. Physical recovery of PSATs overcomes this limitation, providing data on temperature, depth, etc., at rates at least 15-30 times greater than transmitted data.Results: Using PSATs physically recovered from Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus), we evaluated the effects of data resolution (2, 30, 60 min) on interpreting vertical movements including rapid ascents during the expected spawning season. Putative 'spawning rises' of 6-20 min were only present within highest temporal resolution data. Vertical movement rates during spawning rises identified with high-resolution data exceeded rates in all other periods; such movement rates were virtually absent in all other tagged fish within the spawning period. Mean maximum ascent rates were 13 and 23 times higher when the sampling interval was 2 versus 30 or 60 min, respectively. Conclusions:We illustrate the limitations of using satellite-transmitted data to quantify vertical movement rates and detect potential spawning events in marine teleosts. Such low temporal resolution data suggest spurious results by masking important behaviours that archived data reveal as occurring at high frequencies. We highlight new technologies that facilitate PSAT recoveries at sea to overcome these limitations and facilitate analyses of high-frequency archived data.

A review and tests of validation and sensitivity of geolocation models for marine fish tracking

“…Such consistency is surprising given that rates of missing daily data were high (64%–93%) because PSATs were recovered a few days after release, which prevented more complete data transmission. With lower rates of missing data such as the one around 39% observed in our previous tagging efforts (Fisher et al., 2017; Le Bris et al., 2018; Murphy et al., 2017), we suspect that geolocation will be even less affected. Braun, Galuardi, et al.…”

Spatial Ecology of Atlantic Halibut across the Northwest Atlantic: A Recovering Species in an Era of Climate Change

“…Electronic tagging studies characterize detailed movement of individuals, and even more detailed if archival tags are retrieved and allow for analysis at higher temporal resolution (Fisher et al 2017), allowing insight into fine-scale behavior. Progress in the last decade in electronic tagging technologies has revealed a variety of migratory behaviors through the reconstruction of migration tracks using geolocation models (Seitz et al 2017;Le Bris et al 2018;Liu et al 2019;Gatti et al 2020;James et al 2020;Gatti et al 2021).…”

“…The advent of electronic archival tags has offered new opportunities to identify putative spawning behavior from the recorded high-resolution depth times series (Fisher et al 2017), from which distinct spawning rises can be detected (Murphy et al 2017;Le Bris et al 2018). Early utilization of PSATs on Atlantic halibut revealed that fish on the Grand Banks and south of Newfoundland spawn at depths of 450-1050 m from October through February (Armsworthy et al 2014), most likely on the continental slope.…”

“…In U.S. waters, data from two electronically-tagged fish at locations more than 150 km apart within the inshore Gulf of Maine showed movement to a shared location on the continental slope edge in 800-1200 m depths off the Northeast Channel in Canadian waters from December to April (Liu et al 2019). Although spawning rises were not observed, potentially because of the coarse data resolution (Fisher et al 2017), recent returns of tags from Atlantic halibut in the Gulf of Maine have allowed access to high-resolution archived data and provided evidence for spawning rises in the same Northeast Channel slope location and further along the Scotian Shelf. (W. Devoe, personal communication Maine Department of Marine Resources, Nobleboro, Maine, U.S.).…”

“…Prior to technological advances in refrigeration, transportation and communication played roles in the demise of mid-19 th century U.S. Atlantic halibut fisheries (Grasso 2008). In contrast, advances in electronic tag development, satellite tracking and recovery of floating tags at-sea (Fisher et al 2017), evolving population genomic techniques (Kess et al forthcoming), and spatial geolocation methodologies to model and validate individual Atlantic halibut movements (Gatti et al 2021) together illustrate the current 'golden age' of animal biologging and movement research (Wilmers et al 2015). This is permitting new ecological, behavioral, and physiological questions to be asked of deep-water, large-bodied, migratory Atlantic halibut.…”