TY - JOUR
T1 - Drifting baited stereo-videography
T2 - A novel sampling tool for surveying pelagic wildlife in offshore marine reserves
AU - Bouchet, Philippe
AU - Meeuwig, Jessica
PY - 2015/8
Y1 - 2015/8
N2 - We present a novel system of drifting pelagic baited stereo-video cameras that operate in deep-water, topographically complex environments typically considered inaccessible for sampling. The instruments are portable, semi-autonomous and inexpensive, allowing the recording of high-definition video footage in near-real time and over broad stretches of ocean space. We illustrate their benefits and potential as non-extractive monitoring tools for offshore marine reserves with a pilot study conducted within the newly established Perth Canyon Commonwealth Marine Reserve, southwestern Australia (32° S, 115° E). Using occupancy and maximum entropy models, we predict the distribution of midwater fishes and sharks and show that their most suitable habitat encompasses a wider fraction of the canyon head than is covered by park boundaries. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates that drifting pelagic stereo-video cameras can serve as appropriate field platforms for the construction of species distribution models with implications for ocean zoning and conservation planning efforts.
AB - We present a novel system of drifting pelagic baited stereo-video cameras that operate in deep-water, topographically complex environments typically considered inaccessible for sampling. The instruments are portable, semi-autonomous and inexpensive, allowing the recording of high-definition video footage in near-real time and over broad stretches of ocean space. We illustrate their benefits and potential as non-extractive monitoring tools for offshore marine reserves with a pilot study conducted within the newly established Perth Canyon Commonwealth Marine Reserve, southwestern Australia (32° S, 115° E). Using occupancy and maximum entropy models, we predict the distribution of midwater fishes and sharks and show that their most suitable habitat encompasses a wider fraction of the canyon head than is covered by park boundaries. Our proof-of-concept study demonstrates that drifting pelagic stereo-video cameras can serve as appropriate field platforms for the construction of species distribution models with implications for ocean zoning and conservation planning efforts.
U2 - 10.1890/ES14-00380.1
DO - 10.1890/ES14-00380.1
M3 - Article
SN - 2150-8925
VL - 6
SP - 1
EP - 29
JO - Ecosphere
JF - Ecosphere
IS - 8
M1 - 137
ER -