Inferred fish behavior its implications for hydroacoustic surveys in nearshore habitats
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Abstract
Population availability and vessel avoidance effects on hydroacoustic abundance estimates may be scale dependent; therefore, it is important to evaluate these biases across systems. We performed an inter-ship comparison survey to determine the effect of vessel size, day-night period, depth, and environmental gradients on walleye (Sander vitreus) density estimates in Lake Erie, an intermediate-scaled system. Consistent near-bottom depth distributions coupled with horizontal fish movements relative to vessel paths indicated avoidance behavior contributed to higher walleye densities from smaller vessels in shallow water (i.e., <15 m), although the difference decreased with increasing depth. Diel bank migrations in response to seasonally varying onshore-to-offshore environmental gradients likely contributed to day-night differences in densities between sampling locations and seasons. Spatial and unexplained variation accounted for a high proportion of total variation; however, increasing sampling intensity can mitigate effects on precision. Therefore, researchers should minimize systematic avoidance and availability related biases (i.e., vessel and day-night period) to improve population abundance estimates. Quantifying availability and avoidance behavior effects and partitioning sources of variation provides informed flexibility for designing future hydroacoustic surveys in shallow-water nearshore environments.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Inferred fish behavior its implications for hydroacoustic surveys in nearshore habitats |
Series title | Fisheries Research |
DOI | 10.1016/j.fishres.2017.11.018 |
Volume | 199 |
Year Published | 2018 |
Language | English |
Publisher | Elsevier |
Contributing office(s) | Great Lakes Science Center |
Description | 13 p. |
First page | 63 |
Last page | 75 |
Country | United States |
Other Geospatial | Lake Erie |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |