Remote video methods for studying juvenile fish populations in challenging environments

Piggott, Camilla; Depczynski, Martial; Gagliano, Monica; Langlois, Tim

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2020.151454

Cited by 15 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…Such visual census methods are non-extractive, reduce size/species selectivity of other fish sampling techniques 31 , 32 , and avoid behavioural changes associated with diver surveys 33 . Recent fish community research on various Australian coastal habitats detected no assemblage differences between baited and un-baited video surveys 34 , and no bait was used in the present study. Our video cameras were connected to voltaic USB battery packs and set to record continuously during daylight hours.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Enhancing multiple scales of seafloor biodiversity with mussel restoration

Sea

Hillman

Thrush

2022

Sci Rep

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Restoration projects are underway internationally in response to global declines in shellfish beds. As diverse biological assemblages underpin a variety of ecosystem services, understanding broader changes in biodiversity associated with mussel restoration becomes increasingly valuable to scientists and restoration practitioners. Studies generally show bivalve beds increase species richness and abundance, but results are scale-dependent and conditional on the mobility of specific communities observed. We examined biodiversity at multiple scales to determine how communities with varying levels of mobility are influenced by subtidal mussel restoration. Significant changes in assemblage structure were observed in both mobile fish and epifaunal communities, with enhanced species richness and total abundance of associated individuals. In contrast, we observed site-dependent effects of bivalve restoration on macrofaunal community structure and composition, with sheltered, harbour mussel bed communities numerically dominated by detritivores accustomed to organically enriched, muddy sediments. Sediment organic matter significantly increased within mussel beds, and distance-based linear models showed that sediment organic matter was an important predictor of macrofaunal assemblage structure on mussel beds, highlighting the significance of benthic-pelagic coupling and biodeposition to soft-sediment communities. This study contributes novel methods and ecological insights on the role of species mobility and site selection in structuring restoration outcomes, better informing future mussel restoration efforts aimed at emphasising functionally-driven ecosystem services.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 67%

Enhancing multiple scales of seafloor biodiversity with mussel restoration

Sea

Hillman

Thrush

2022

Sci Rep

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“…The remaining 30 min were used for analysis which is considered adequate time to assess fish assemblages (Wraith et al, 2013). All BRUVs were deployed from a boat during daylight hours on an incoming tide, around one hour after low tide in order to reduce variability in bait plume area caused by current velocity (e.g., Taylor et al, 2013;Piggott et al, 2020). All deployments were conducted within 5 days of a low spring tide and therefore the majority of plots were placed in seagrass areas that were almost always subtidal.…”

Section: Surveys Of Seagrass Fish Assemblagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seagrass Structural Traits Drive Fish Assemblages in Small-Scale Fisheries

et al. 2021

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Seagrasses – a group of foundation species in coastal ecosystems – provide key habitat for diverse and abundant faunal assemblages and support numerous ecosystem functions and services. However, whether the habitat role of seagrasses is influenced by seagrass diversity, by dominant species or both, remains unclear. To that end, we sought to investigate the specific seagrass characteristics (e.g., species diversity, seagrass traits) that influence tropical fish assemblages, and place this in the context of small-scale fishery use. We surveyed seagrass variables at 55 plots, nested within 12 sites around Zanzibar (Tanzania) in the Western Indian Ocean, and used Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems to assess fish assemblages across plots. Using linear mixed models, we reveal that seagrass structural complexity and depth were the best predictors of fish abundance, with higher abundance occurring in deeper meadows or meadows with high canopy, leaf length and number of leaves per shoot. Moreover, an interaction between seagrass cover and land-use was the best predictor of fish species richness, where sites closer to human impacts were less affected by cover than sites with lower human impact. Overall, models with seagrass species richness or functional diversity as predictors poorly explained fish assemblages. Fish taxa that were important for small-scale fishery sectors (e.g., emperors, snappers, rabbitfish, and parrotfish) were primarily driven by seagrass structural complexity. Our results provide a unique analysis of the relationship between seagrass habitat and its associated fish assemblages in that we show that seagrass species diversity had little effect on seagrass fish assemblages, which instead appear driven by specific seagrass traits and seagrass cover. If conserving high value species that support adjacent fisheries is the priority for protecting seagrass meadows, then seagrass areas should be chosen with high cover and structural complexity that are in deeper waters. Any conservation measures also need to balance the needs of fishers that use the resources supported by seagrasses.

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“…Our first attempt to place cameras to observe a daytime habitat of coelacanths provided an example of an alternative method to observe these habitats. Underwater video camera systems have been increasingly used in studies of marine fishes or marine biodiversity using baited, stationary, or moving camera systems (Mallet and Pelletier, 2014;Zarco-Perello and Enríquez, 2019;Piggott et al, 2020;Coleman and Burge, 2021). Our study suggests that fixed cameras may be a highly useful method for studying the communities of fishes that interact with coelacanths.…”

Section: Other Fishes In the Coelacanth Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 80%