Mobile robotic platforms for the acoustic tracking of deep-sea demersal fishery resources

Abstract

Knowing the displacement capacity and mobility patterns of industrially exploited (i.e., fished) marine resources is key to establishing effective conservation management strategies in human-impacted marine ecosystems. Acquiring accurate behavioral information of deep-sea fished ecosystems is necessary to establish the sizes of marine protected areas within the framework of large international societal programs (e.g., European Community H2020, as part of the Blue Growth economic strategy). However, such information is currently scarce, and high-frequency and prolonged data collection is rarely available. Here, we report the implementation of autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles as an aid for acoustic long-baseline localization systems for autonomous tracking of Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus), one of the key living resources exploited in European waters. In combination with seafloor moored acoustic receivers, we detected and tracked the movements of 33 tagged lobsters at 400-m depth for more than 3 months. We also identified the best procedures to localize both the acoustic receivers and the tagged lobsters, based on algorithms designed for off-the-shelf acoustic tags identification. Autonomous mobile platforms that deliver data on animal behavior beyond traditional fixed platform capabilities represent an advance for prolonged, in situ monitoring of deep-sea benthic animal behavior at meter spatial scales.

Burrow emergence rhythms of Nephrops norvegicus by UWTV and surveying biases

“…In addition, different stand-alone or cabled observatories, holding several seabed and water column sensors for environmental monitoring (e.g. the OBSEA or SmartBay; respectively, https ://www.obsea .es and https ://www.smart bay.ie/), could be used to picture burrow emergence modulation (for an insight on monitoring network geometry and characteristics see 65,66 ). The different observational points could be synchronously used to account for the control of oceanographic and ecological drivers on the burrowing behavior of the species 67 .…”

Automatic Monitoring of Relevant Behaviors for Crustacean Production in Aquaculture: A Review

“…Due to the maturity and completeness of the equipment, many scholars have used Canadian VEMCO-brand (Halifax, NS, Canada) acoustic telemetry systems with tags, which are one of the most widely used systems to obtain data on crustacean positions. The position information can be directly quantified into diurnal activity rhythms [ 29 , 80 , 81 , 82 ], seasonal movements [ 83 ], home range [ 31 , 75 , 84 ], nomadic behavior [ 72 , 76 ], and migratory patterns [ 85 , 86 , 87 ]. Compared with passive acoustic monitoring, acoustic telemetry technology is more effective in determining the activity pattern of individual crustaceans.…”

Why do animal groups matter for conservation and management?

“…One important aspect that emerges clearly from the literature is that, for the majority of animal species, we still lack the most basic information about their social behavior, which then precludes us from even speculating about the effects of perturbations on group resilience and population persistence. We are now in the midst of rapid developments in technology (e.g., Argos and GPS satellite systems, ICARUS, bio‐acoustic sensors, thermal imaging, miniaturized loggers) and analytic tools (e.g., deep learning, machine learning, neural networks) that are allowing us to study groups in increasingly greater detail and in a wider range of species ranging from group‐living to non‐group‐living (e.g., Abdul Mutalib, Ruppert, Kamaruszaman, Jamsari, & Nik Rosely, 2019; Allan et al, 2018; Browning et al, 2018; Burger, Fennessy, Fennessy, & Dierkes, 2020; Maekawa et al, 2020; Masmitja et al, 2020; Morita et al, 2021; Norouzzadeh et al, 2018; Ripperger et al, 2020; Teixeira, Maron, & Rensburg, 2019; Thorup et al, 2017; Wilber et al, 2019). These advances demonstrate a wide range of intra and interspecies variation and complexity of group dynamics, including non‐group‐living species.…”