The MacKinnon Lists Technique: An efficient new method for rapidly assessing biodiversity and species abundance ranks in the marine environment

Abstract

Widespread and ever-increasing anthropogenic impacts in the marine environment are driving a need to develop more efficient survey methods for monitoring changes in marine biodiversity. There is a particular urgent need for survey methods that could more rapidly and effectively detect change in species richness, abundance and community composition. Here, test the suitability of the Mackinnon Lists Technique for use in the marine environment by testing its effectiveness for rapid assessment of fish communities. The MacKinnon Lists Technique is a time-efficient and cost-effective sampling method developed for studying avian tropical biodiversity, in which several list samples of species can be collected from a single survey. Using the well-established MaxN approach on data from deployments of a Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems for comparison, we tested the suitability of the MacKinnon Lists Technique for use in marine environments by analysing tropical reef fish communities. Using both methods for each data set, differences in community composition between depths and levels of protection were assessed. Both methods were comparable for diversity and evenness indices with similar ranks for species. Multivariate analysis showed that the MacKinnon Lists Technique and MaxN detected similar differences in community composition at different depths and protection status. However, the MacKinnon Lists Technique detected significant differences between factors when fewer videos (representing reduced survey effort) were used. We conclude that the MacKinnon Lists Technique is at least as effective as the widely used MaxN method for detecting differences between communities in the marine environment and suggest can do so with lower survey effort. The MacKinnon Lists Technique has the potential to be widely used as an effective new tool for rapid conservation monitoring in marine ecosystems.

Avifaunal Survey of Bukit Balingkadus, A Small Fragmented Forest in Ranau, Sabah, Malaysia

“…As the method relates species richness to the number of observations rather than to time, area, or walking speed, it allows for the comparison of data obtained by different observers or under varying field conditions (Herzog et al, 2002). The ML method has gained popularity since the 1990s, not just in avian surveys but also in biodiversity assessments of mammal and fish species (Bach et al, 2020).…”

Indigenous Lands are Better for Amphibian Biodiversity Conservation Than Immigrant-Managed Agricultural Lands: A Case Study From Manu Biosphere Reserve, Peru

“…Most bird community studies use lists of 10 species instead of five; however, the avian community is generally greater (between 150 and 300 species) in comparison to the amphibian community (with fewer than 150 amphibian species found in previous work conducted nearby; Russell et al, 2019; Von May et al, 2010; Whitworth, Downie, et al, 2016). A recent marine ecosystem study with 90 fish species also utilized Mackinnon lists of five species (Bach et al, 2020). The created lists were used in the subsequent analysis for species richness, diversity, relative abundance, and community composition.…”

“…These incidental records were combined with the records from nocturnal transects to maximize the number of encounters per site. Both were included in the analysis creating samples using the Mackinnon Species List Technique (MLT; (Bach et al, 2020;Herzog et al, 2002;Macleod et al, 2011;Muir & Muir, 2011)). This technique has been successfully used for birds (Herzog et al, 2002;Macleod et al, 2011), marine ecosystems (Bach et al, 2020) and amphibians (Muir & Muir, 2011) as a rapid assessment technique.…”

“…Both were included in the analysis creating samples using the Mackinnon Species List Technique (MLT; (Bach et al, 2020;Herzog et al, 2002;Macleod et al, 2011;Muir & Muir, 2011)). This technique has been successfully used for birds (Herzog et al, 2002;Macleod et al, 2011), marine ecosystems (Bach et al, 2020) and amphibians (Muir & Muir, 2011) as a rapid assessment technique. To create lists, we generated a chronologically ordered master list by recording a list of all individuals seen during the nocturnal transects and incidental records.…”

“…We chose sites to reflect the diverse land-use types within Manu and assess the changes in amphibian communities across a typical buffer zone transition, from clearance for agriculture, protected regenerating secondary forest, native community lands subjected to hunting and selective logging, and old-growth forest from within the National Park. We apply the MacKinnon list technique (Bach et al, 2020;Herzog et al, 2002;Macleod et al, 2011;Muir & Muir, 2011), a rapid assessment survey methodology specially designed for use in speciesrich environments. This technique is a time-efficient and costeffective sampling method that effectively detects changes in species richness, abundance, and community composition.…”