Using passive acoustics to assess habitat selection by the brown meagre <scp><i>Sciaena umbra</i></scp> in a northern Adriatic Sea mussel farm

Colla, Silvia; Pranovi, Fabio; Fiorin, Riccardo; Malavasi, Stefano; Picciulin, Marta

doi:10.1111/jfb.13589

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(48 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The inlets now present artificial hard substrates in an otherwise soft and mobile sea floor, which increase habitat heterogeneity. It is known that these artificial structures can act as an attraction site for the brown meagre (Fabi, Panfili & Spagnolo, 1998;Bonacito et al, 2002;Colla et al, 2018). Along the Venice inlets, reproductive individuals have been previously acoustically identified (Picciulin et al, 2013), whereas the presence of the shi drum has been reported only anecdotally by local recreational fisherman.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adult aggregations of shi drum generally occur along sandy beaches, mixed rock and sand surf-zones and subtidal reefs (Hutchings & Griffiths, 2005), features which characterize the study site. On the other hand, the local distribution of S. umbra is probably due to its preference for the artificial, hard structures that resemble its typical reproductive habitat, consisting of rocky reefs with holes and shelters close to soft substrates acting as feeding grounds (Fabi, Panfili & Spagnolo, 1998;Bonacito et al, 2002;Colla et al, 2018). To date, no research has focused on the species-specific abiotic habitat preferences (temperature, salinity, depth, water current) of the target species.…”

Section: The Ecological Requirements Of the Target Species And Their Relation To The Observed Fish Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In aquaculture facilities, shi drum calls are emitted at significantly higher rates during spawning nights, when temporal features can provide information on the onset of reproduction (Bolgan et al, 2020a). In contrast, the presence of the brown meagre has been widely monitored by PAM in several coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea (Bonacito et al, 2002;Picciulin et al, 2013;Colla et al, 2018;Parmentier et al, 2018;Desiderà et al, 2019;Di Iorio et al, 2020), where choruses provide a reliable natural indicator of this species' breeding sites (Picciulin et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Sound discrimination of two sympatric, threatened fish species allows for their in situ mapping

Picciulin

Bolgan

Facca

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. Human impacts on marine ecosystems are increasing and the number of fish species listed in the Red List is constantly growing. In the Mediterranean Sea, seven of the 10 bony fishes defined as Threatened by the IUCN are known to be vocal, including the target species of this study: the shi drum (Umbrina cirrosa Linnaeus, 1758) and the brown meagre (Sciaena umbra Linnaeus, 1758). As a result, non-invasive passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) can be used to pinpoint their distribution at sea. However, for PAM to be effective, reliable acoustic discrimination is required because the sounds they emit during reproduction are remarkably similar (i.e. short broadband pulsed sounds).2. The shi drum and the brown meagre are closely related, elusive, vocal sciaenids, partially overlapping in their ecological niche. During summer 2019, three PAM surveys were conducted along the tidal inlets of the Venice lagoon (Italy). Here, the calls of both species have been recognized according to their temporal features: shi drum sounds were made up of a lower number of longer pulses with a different envelope, repeated at a lower rate than those of the brown meagre. Further, shi drum and brown meagre sounds of different origins (aquaculture and semi-natural conditions) were analysed and compared with those collected during the survey of the study area in order to validate the field collected data.3. Call discrimination allowed for a fine-scale species mapping, showing a partially overlapping distribution of the two species along the inlets. This is the first case in which two sciaenids have been documented to share their reproductive habitat in the Mediterranean Sea.4. This study demonstrates that it is feasible to acoustically monitor the target species even in those parts of the Mediterranean Sea where they co-exist. This, in its turn, could provide managers with the required data for effective conservation measures to be implemented.

show abstract

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Ecological Requirements Of the Target Species And Their Relation To The Observed Fish Distributionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Sound discrimination of two sympatric, threatened fish species allows for their in situ mapping

Picciulin

Bolgan

Facca

et al. 2021

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Spatial mapping of S. umbra based on their vocalisations has been proposed and successfully adopted in the Gulf of Venice (Italy) (Bonacito et al, 2002;Colla et al, 2018;Picciulin et al, 2013). In this study sound recordings were acquired using two or three simultaneously deployed drifting devices equipped with an EA-SDA14 compact autonomous recorder (RTSys®, France) and a HTI-92-WB (High Tech Inc.®) hydrophone with a flat sensitivity equal to −155 ± 3 dB re 1 V μPa−1 between 5 and 50 kHz.…”

Section: Acoustic Data Acquisition and Recording Protocolmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted June 4, 2020. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.03.131326 doi: bioRxiv preprint the knowledge gaps about the brown meagre's ecology and reproductive behaviour and a few pioneering studies in the Gulf of Venice (Italy) using PAM for spatial monitoring (Bonacito et al, 2002;Colla et al, 2018;Picciulin et al, 2013b), there are no studies reporting the application and validation of this technique by environmental managers. The aims of this study were to underline the efficiency of PAM for the survey and management of S. umbra and its potential spawning grounds within and outside MPAs by mapping it's acoustic activity 1) along the coastline of three wide-ranging MPAs, 2) at large spatial scales (Northwestern Mediterranean), and 3) over two years in a no-take reserve.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatio-temporal surveys of the brown meagreSciaena umbrausing passive acoustics for management and conservation

Iorio¹,

Bonhomme²,

Michez

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

20Conservation of exploited fish populations is a priority for environmental managers. Spatio-21 temporal knowledge on reproductive sites is mandatory for species and habitat conservation but 22 is often difficult to assess, particularly over vast geographic areas. Regular and long-term 23 standardized surveys are necessary to identify reproductive sites, assess population trends and 24 their distribution. Here we emphasize the utility of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) for the 25 survey and management of a depleted vulnerable Mediterranean fish species, the brown meagre, 26 Sciaena umbra. Acoustic surveys of reproductive calls were conducted combining 1) spatial 27 data from standardized surveys within three MPAs and from 49 unprotected sites throughout 28 the Northwestern Mediterranean basin, as well as 2) temporal data from a two-year-long survey 29 at a presumed spawning location. The MPA surveys, which rapidly scanned ~30-50 km of the 30 rocky coastlines per MPA, unveiled maps of distribution and reproductive activity of the brown 31 meagre, including potential spawning sites. They were also effective in emphasizing effects 32 linked to management actions: Full-protection zones had a higher number of vocalizations (70% 33 of the listening sites) compared to less protected zones (30% of the sites) or sites outside MPAs 34 (45% of the sites). This was also reflected in the number of singers that was generally low (< 3 35 individuals) in less protected zones and outside MPAs, implying lower fish densities. Highest 36 calling aggregations were observed in potential spawning areas that represented only 0.04% of 37 all listening sites, and were almost all in older, fully protected MPAs, which thus play a key 38 role for fish stock recovery. The two-year survey revealed a 5-month reproductive season (from 39 May to October) with a strong positive correlation between calling activity and temperature.40Overall this study confirms the role of PAM as an efficient, replicable and standardized non-41 invasive method for population management that can identify functional sites and key 42 protection zones, provide valuable information on reproduction, spatial and temporal 43 occurrence, but also on population trends and climate-driven changes. 44 3 45 46

show abstract

Sound features and vocal rhythms as a proxy for locating the spawning ground ofSciaena umbrain the wild

Picciulin

Fiorin

Facca

et al. 2020

Aquatic Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The brown meagre (Sciaena umbra) is a demersal sciaenid fish recognized as indicative of good environmental quality and is defined as an umbrella species for the ecological community of rocky coastal habitats. Sciaena umbra is classified as a Vulnerable fish species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and knowledge on the distribution of its spawning habitats is essential for its conservation. Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) is a suitable tool to monitor S. umbra distribution because of the high consistency, over space and time, of the communication sounds that this species emits during the reproductive period, with irregular or regular rhythms, or with calls merging into a chorus. During the summer of 2019, the presence of this species was investigated acoustically at 40 listening points distributed along the tidal inlets that connect the Venice lagoon with the open sea. Longer sounds, comprising a higher number of faster repeated pulses, were found during the chorus and were used as a proxy of spawning activity; similar sound features have been recorded in different captive Sciaenids during spawning. The three inlets were classified as more or less suitable for spawning on the basis of the vocal rhythms identified, demonstrating a clear preference along a north–south gradient and indicating higher spawning activity in the internal‐facing areas of the inlets, compared with the seaward‐facing areas. The chorus occurred in localized areas consistently throughout the breeding season, suggesting that spawning is concentrated in preferred areas. For the first time a relationship between the sound features and vocal rhythms of fish has been highlighted by an in situ study. This validates the use of the chorus as a reliable natural indicator of S. umbra breeding sites, and in turn suggests a potential non‐invasive approach based on PAM for mapping the key reproductive areas of this vulnerable species in the Mediterranean Sea.

show abstract

Using passive acoustics to assess habitat selection by the brown meagre Sciaena umbra in a northern Adriatic Sea mussel farm

Cited by 10 publications

References 24 publications

Sound discrimination of two sympatric, threatened fish species allows for their in situ mapping

Sound discrimination of two sympatric, threatened fish species allows for their in situ mapping

Spatio-temporal surveys of the brown meagreSciaena umbrausing passive acoustics for management and conservation

Sound features and vocal rhythms as a proxy for locating the spawning ground ofSciaena umbrain the wild

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About