Correlation of consumer grade hydroacoustic signature to submersed plant biomass

Howell, Andrew; Richardson, Robert J.

doi:10.1016/j.aquabot.2019.02.001

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Previous studies have also reported a positive correlation between manually observed biovolume and the Lowrance/EcoSound system [35,38], and, similarly to this study, the Lowrance/EcoSound system has produced higher estimates when compared to plant community observations [28].…”

Section: Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Low-cost and easy-to-use mapping tools are of interest to researchers, aquatic resource managers, and non-government conservation organizations, as they may allow a user to create basic maps of key aquatic parameters without special skills and without the need for expensive or specific data processing tools. For example, maps produced using EcoSound have been used for assessing and monitoring vegetation biomass [28,35,[37][38][39], estimating fish habitat availability [36,40], and as supportive material in many research and monitoring reports [39,[41][42][43].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Accuracy and Precision of Low-Cost Echosounder and Automated Data Processing Software for Habitat Mapping in a Large River

et al. 2019

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The development of consumer hydroacoustic systems continues to advance, enabling the use of low-cost methods for professional mapping purposes. Information describing habitat characteristics produced with a combination of low-cost commercial echosounder (Lowrance HDS) and a cloud-based automated data processing tool (BioBase EcoSound) was tested. The combination frequently underestimated water depth, with a mean absolute error of 0.17 ± 0.13 m (avg ± 1SD). The average EcoSound bottom hardness value was high (0.37–0.5) for all the substrate types found in the study area and could not be used to differentiate between the substrate size classes that varied from silt to bedrock. Overall, the bottom hardness value is not informative in an alluvial river bed setting where the majority of the substrate is composed of hard sands, gravels, and stones. EcoSound separated vegetation presence/absence with 85–100% accuracy and assigned vegetation height (EcoSound biovolume) correctly in 55% of instances but often overestimated it in other instances. It was most accurate when the vegetation canopy was ≤25% or >75% of the water column. Overall, as a low-cost, easy-to-use application EcoSound offers rapid data collection and allows users with no specialized skill requirements to make more detailed bathymetry and vegetation maps than those typically available for many rivers, lakes, and estuaries.

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Section: Vegetationsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accuracy and Precision of Low-Cost Echosounder and Automated Data Processing Software for Habitat Mapping in a Large River

et al. 2019

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“…Quadrat biomass has previously been related to biovolume or height measured by echosounder (e.g. Duarte 1987; Maceina et al 1984; Thomas et al 1990), but to our knowledge, only Howell and Richardson (2019) related rake biomass to biovolume. However, their biovolume was derived from a cloud-based data-processing platform and was not an absolute volumetric estimate; rather it referred to the percent volume inhabited by SAV in the water column (PVI, % cover/depth * height, (Thomas et al 1990; Winfield et al 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Recent echosounders also provide information on substrate type that can increase accuracy when applying our two-step calibration approach (Helminen et al 2019; Munday et al 2013). To reduce purchase cost and post-processing time of echosounding, consumer-grade echosounder coupled to cloud-based automated data-processing tools can also be used (Helminen et al 2019; Howell and Richardson 2019; Munday et al 2013). New technological development in hydroacoustic autonomous boats (e.g.…”

Section: Comments and Recommendationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Indeed, echosounders are transportable and increasingly affordable devices that, just like a sonar used for fishing, can be hooked on the side of a boat for a rapid, non-destructive and repeatable survey (e.g. (Howell and Richardson 2019). The reflection of sound on bottom surfaces and canopies allows for the simultaneous measurement of SAV height and water depth, which is extremely useful as water depth strongly influences SAV biomass (Duarte and Kalff 1990).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combining quadrat, rake and echosounding to estimate submerged aquatic vegetation biomass at the ecosystem scale

Botrel

Hudon

Biron

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Measuring freshwater submerged aquatic (SAV) biomass at large spatial scales is challenging and no single technique can cost effectively accomplish this while maintaining accuracy. We propose to combine and intercalibrate accurate quadrat-scuba diver technique, fast rake sampling and large scale echosounding. We found that the relationship between quadrat and rake biomass is moderately strong (R2 = 0.62, RMSECV = 2.19 g/m2) and varies with substrate type and SAV growth form. Rake biomass was also successfully estimated from biovolume10 and its error (R2 = 0.53, RMSECV = 5.95 g/m2), a biomass proxy derived from echosounding, at a resolution of 10 m radius from rake sampling point. However, the relationship was affected by SAV growth form, depth, acoustic data quality and wind conditions. Sequential application of calibrations yielded predictions in agreement with quadrat observations, but echosounding predictions underestimated biomass in shallow areas (< 1.5 m) while outperforming point estimation in deep areas (> 3 m). Whole-system biomass was more accurately estimated by calibrated echosounding than rake point surveys, owing to the large sample size and better representation of spatial heterogeneity of echosounding. We recommend developing as a one-time event a series of quadrat and rake calibration equations for each growth form and substrate type. Because the relationship between biovolume and biomass depends on SAV growth form, rake and echosounding calibration needs to be conducted frequently. With the two calibrations, rake can thus be used as a rapid ground truthing or in shallow areas where echosounding is inadequate.

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Combining quadrat, rake, and echosounding to estimate submerged aquatic vegetation biomass at the ecosystem scale

Botrel

Hudon

Biron

et al. 2023

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Measuring freshwater submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) biomass at large spatial scales is challenging, and no single technique can cost effectively accomplish this while maintaining accuracy. We propose to combine and intercalibrate accurate quadrat-scuba diver technique, fast rake sampling, and large-scale echosounding. We found that the overall relationship between quadrat and rake biomass is moderately strong (pseudo R 2 = 0.61) and varies with substrate type and SAV growth form. Rake biomass was also successfully estimated from biovolume (pseudo R 2 = 0.57), a biomass proxy derived from echosounding. In addition, the relationship was affected, in decreasing relevance, by SAV growth form, flow velocity, acoustic data quality, depth, and wind conditions. Sequential application of calibrations yielded predictions in agreement with quadrat observations, but echosounding predictions underestimated biomass in shallow areas (< 1 m) while outperforming point estimation in deep areas (> 3 m). Whole-system quadrat-equivalent biomass from echosounding differed by a factor of two from point survey estimates, suggesting echosounding is more accurate at larger scales owing to the increased sample size and better representation of spatial heterogeneity. To decide when an individual or a combination of techniques is profitable, we developed a step-by-step guideline. Given the risks of quadrat-scuba diver technique, we recommend developing a one-time quadrat-rake calibration, followed by the use of rake and echosounding when sampling at larger spatial and temporal scales. In this case, rake sampling becomes a valid ground truthing method for echosounding, also providing valuable species information and estimates in shallow waters where echosounding is inappropriate.

show abstract

Correlation of consumer grade hydroacoustic signature to submersed plant biomass

Cited by 8 publications

References 15 publications

Accuracy and Precision of Low-Cost Echosounder and Automated Data Processing Software for Habitat Mapping in a Large River

Accuracy and Precision of Low-Cost Echosounder and Automated Data Processing Software for Habitat Mapping in a Large River

Combining quadrat, rake and echosounding to estimate submerged aquatic vegetation biomass at the ecosystem scale

Combining quadrat, rake, and echosounding to estimate submerged aquatic vegetation biomass at the ecosystem scale

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