Networked Animal Telemetry in the Northwest Atlantic and Caribbean Waters

Abstract

Acoustic telemetry, in which transmitters projecting ultrasonic signals carrying unique identification codes are deployed on marine and aquatic animals and detected and logged by acoustic receivers, is becoming a common tool in fisheries science. Collaboration among researchers using this technology has led to the development of telemetry networks that are capable of detecting transmitters at coastwide and even continental scales through the combined coverage of all members' receivers. Two grassroots telemetry networks in the northwest Atlantic and Caribbean, the Atlantic Cooperative Telemetry (ACT) Network and the FACT Network, began as small-scale efforts among neighboring researchers and have expanded to include shared databases of tagged animals along entire coastlines. A third telemetry network, the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN), has brought additional capacity to the ACT and FACT networks and has provided a focus for telemetry activities in Canadian waters. It has also improved the power and efficiency of telemetry research globally through collaborative, standardized methods for storing, sharing, and processing data. When used in combination with other data collected by traditional fishery research methods and emerging technologies, such as remote sensing and autonomous vehicles, data collected through acoustic telemetry networks can address fundamental but previously unanswered questions about key habitat areas and data-poor species and can yield new insights into the ecology of species that are thought to be well known. Here, we provide an overview of acoustic telemetry networks, including a history of the ACT Network, FACT Network, and OTN and a review of recent and current research that has been made possible through the connections enabled by these networks.

Movement of sturgeons ( Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus and A. fulvescens ) in the St. Lawrence Estuary: A 35‐year tagging study

“…Studies using extensive acoustic telemetry monitoring networks (Bangley et al., 2020; Valiquette et al., 2016) can provide insight to refine the interpretation of dispersal distances derived from CMR studies. An extensive acoustic telemetry survey conducted recently in the St. Lawrence system showed that many acoustically tagged Atlantic sturgeon that were detected from early spring to late fall underwent extensive movement during this period but tended to return and aggregate in a small area located between Île d’Orléans and Isle‐aux‐Coudres—which largely corresponds to their tagging sites—from September to November (MFFP, unpublished data).…”

“…However, conventional tagging techniques might not be the best research tool for investigating sturgeon movement. Acoustic telemetry (Bangley et al., 2020) and archival tags, like pop‐up satellite archival tags, would provide a more complete picture of seasonal movement, migration patterns, and habitat selection (Erickson et al., 2011; Rothermel et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2016). Because many of these advanced techniques require expensive equipment and specialized training, collaborative research involving multiple organizations and a variety of tagging techniques is likely the best approach for future studies on sturgeon movement at multiple temporal and spatial scales (Nelson et al., 2013).…”

Compatibility in acoustic telemetry

“…Consequently, there is a clear move towards implementing large-scale, cross-boundary networks [5], such as the Pacific Shelf Ocean Tracking system (POST) [6], the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) [7], the Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry working group (FACT) [8], the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS) [9], the Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) and the European Tracking Network (ETN). Next to physical infrastructure, these networks have a central data repository, where (meta) data from acoustic telemetry studies are archived, which allows for improved collaboration and data sharing [10,16,17]. Researchers aim to deliver state of the art and relevant science utilizing a global network of equipment and scientists that work together to achieve common goals.…”

“…All aquatic animal telemetry data (and associated metadata) collected in Europe can be archived in the ETN database [10]. This recent and rapidly growing data repository [10,16,17] hosts ca. 260 users from 80 institutes across Europe at the date of publication.…”

A standardisation framework for bio‐logging data to advance ecological research and conservation

“…Such standardisation is crucial for acoustic data (resulting from detection of animal-borne transmitters through static receiver stations) to match detections across acoustic networks around the world that are managed by different user groups. Although these repositories are not yet fully interoperable, templates for reporting acoustic tracking data enable integration and rapid data sharing among researchers and existing networks(Bangley et al, 2020). For satellite and archival telemetry data, standardisation is more challenging given the many heterogeneous data file formats that result from the large number of sensors used, existing manufacturers, as well as settings and applications for different tags.…”