Distribution of pelagic and epi-benthic fish around a multi-module artificial reef-field: Close module spacing supports a connected assemblage

Becker, Alistair; Smith, James A.; Taylor, Matthew D.; McLeod, James; Lowry, Michael B.

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2018.09.020

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Our GAMM indicated that when summed, 84% of mean school thickness occurred within 50 m of the nearest module. This finding agrees with other studies of the distribution of fish around artificial reefs in the same region (Scott et al 2015;Smith et al 2017;Becker et al 2019).…”

Section: Spatial Model Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

“…The high proportions of school thickness occurring within 50 m of modules suggest that we likely captured most of the fish schools associated with the reef field. The lower performance than Becker et al (2019) may also be due to differences in model structure, as Becker et al (2019) explained relative fish abundance as a function of bearing to, and distance from, the nearest reef (rather than a function of geographic location).…”

Section: Spatial Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Each concrete module weighs 25 t and stands 5 m high, with a footprint of 4 × 4 m. Modules are deployed in five clusters of 3–4 modules, with one module in each cluster supporting a 4 m steel tower. Artificial reefs such as these typically host isolated, compact and discrete epi‐benthic schools (Becker et al 2019) which facilitate the resolution of individual schools with MBES.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…S2); however, we chose to use k = 50 to resolve spatial patterns in the data without overfitting. Several studies have found that fish abundance drops off rapidly after 30–50 m (Boswell et al 2010; dos Santos et al 2010; Scott et al 2015; Smith et al 2017; Becker et al 2019). To determine the spatial extent to limit our model, we created a binomial GAMM with logit‐link to predict probability of target occurrence, with a smoother of “distance from the nearest module” as the only predictor and date as a random effect.…”

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have modeled the horizontal distribution of fish around artificial structures by saturating the reef field with stationary underwater video (Scott et al 2015;Smith et al 2017;Becker et al 2019), while others have investigated vertical distribution with underwater visual census (Rilov and Benayahu 1998) and camera-mounted remotely operated vehicles (McLean et al 2019), but measuring three-dimensional distribution remains a challenge. While these visual techniques do provide valuable species-composition data (dos Santos et al 2010;Scott et al 2015;Smith et al 2017;Becker et al 2019), they are not well suited for studying the distribution of *Correspondence: m.holland@unsw.edu.au Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Characterizing the three‐dimensional distribution of schooling reef fish with a portable multibeam echosounder

Holland

Becker

Smith

et al. 2021

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Multispecies schools of small planktivorous fishes are important constituents of reefs and coastal infrastructure; however, determining the extent and distribution of these schools is challenging. Here, we describe a novel use of a low-cost portable multibeam echosounder from a small vessel, which can concurrently measure detailed bathymetry and the distribution of mid-water targets with high spatial accuracy, regardless of light availability or water clarity. Fish abundance and biomass are not easily quantified by multibeam echosounders, so we developed a new metric for delineating the gridded horizontal distribution of school thickness, and assessed the metric's efficacy by examining its correlation with mean volume backscattering strength derived from a calibrated 38 kHz split-beam echosounder (R = 0.67). We measured the distribution of fish school thickness around clusters of large concrete modules of an artificial reef using a multibeam echosounder, complemented with underwater video to aid species identification. The mean distribution of school thickness was mapped around the reef field with generalized additive mixed models. Model spatial predictions indicated schools aggregated around module clusters, rather than individual modules. Dynamic schools of fish in relatively shallow coastal waters ( 30 m) can be surveyed over 400,000 m 2 at 3 m s −1 in just 60 min. Portable multibeam echosounders are an accessible and valuable addition to quantifying the dynamic distributions of coastal fishes around features with high vertical relief.

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Section: Spatial Model Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Spatial Model Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Materials and Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characterizing the three‐dimensional distribution of schooling reef fish with a portable multibeam echosounder

Holland

Becker

Smith

et al. 2021

Limnology & Ocean Methods

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Examining Epibenthic Assemblages Associated with Artificial Reefs Using a Species Archetype Approach

Fang

Rose

et al. 2022

Mar Coast Fish

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The placement of artificial reefs (ARs) influences, to various degrees, a wide range of epibenthic species, whereas most assessments focus on target or focal species. Methods of capturing the responses of many species can inform management about the full range of likely responses of species to the location and arrangement of ARs. Performing many single‐species analyses presents difficulties in interpretation. We used monitoring data from 14 surveys from June 2017 to August 2020 in an area with ARs deployed in the Bohai Sea, China. Both trap and visual census data were collected, and a suite of environmental variables was also collected or estimated for sampled sites and for spatial cells throughout the study area. The data were used to fit a species archetype model (SAM) that relies on the shared responses of species to environmental variables. The many species were grouped into six distinct archetypes. Species membership in the archetypes was confirmed by comparing results to the isometric feature mapping and partitioning around medoids (ISOPAM) approach, which relied on species co‐occurrence applied to the same data. The SAM results were also validated by comparing archetypes determined with fitting to predictions from a single survey that was not used in fitting. The six archetypes identified by the SAM had member species that differed in dependence on substrate types, distance to the nearest AR, distance to the nearest gravel, temperature, dissolved oxygen, time since AR deployment, and sampling method. The importance of the environmental variables was assessed by computing the changes in predicted occurrence probabilities of the archetypes when environmental variables were varied with the other environmental variables set at their minimum, mean, maximum, or optimal values. Species archetype modeling provides a valuable approach for predicting occurrence probabilities of epibenthic species assemblages in response to the locations and arrangement of ARs, and results can inform management related to fishing enhancement and conservation.

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Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

Jech,

Lipsky,

Moran

et al. 2023

Mar Coast Fish

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ObjectiveOffshore wind development is expected to expand rapidly along the East Coast of the United States within the next 10 years and will impact the biology and ecology of the flora and fauna as well as human activities, such as commercial and recreational fishing. The Block Island Wind Farm is a five‐turbine, 30‐MW wind array located about 6 km off the coast of Rhode Island and has been in operation since 2016.MethodsWe conducted a 4‐day acoustical and biological survey of the area during daylight hours to gain insight on the spatial distribution of fish species in and around the turbines. We utilized a hull‐mounted, downward‐looking Simrad 38‐/200‐kHz ES70 and a pole‐mounted iXblue SeapiX steerable Mills Cross, 150‐kHz, 1.6° resolution multibeam echosounder oriented downward to map the two‐ and three‐dimensional distributions using spiral and straight‐line transect patterns. We collected fish by using hook and line to verify the sources of acoustic backscatter and to measure length, sex, and diet.ResultBlack Sea Bass Centropristis striata were the most commonly caught species and appeared to be the primary constituents of the fish aggregations that were mapped by the acoustic systems. We found increased levels of acoustic backscatter within 200 m of the turbine structures, suggesting that they were attractive structures.ConclusionThese levels were not greater than backscatter levels in the surrounding area, suggesting that the proximate effect of the wind array was spatially limited.

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Distribution of pelagic and epi-benthic fish around a multi-module artificial reef-field: Close module spacing supports a connected assemblage

Cited by 16 publications

References 49 publications

Characterizing the three‐dimensional distribution of schooling reef fish with a portable multibeam echosounder

Characterizing the three‐dimensional distribution of schooling reef fish with a portable multibeam echosounder

Examining Epibenthic Assemblages Associated with Artificial Reefs Using a Species Archetype Approach

Fish distribution in three dimensions around the Block Island Wind Farm as observed with conventional and volumetric echosounders

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