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Estimating fish abundance at spawning aggregations from courtship sound levels
Timothy J Rowell1, David A Demer2, Octavio Aburto-Oropeza3
1Marine Biology Research Division, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA. trowell@ucsd.edu.
Scientific Reports
|June 15, 2017
Summary
Passive acoustics can now estimate fish biomass. Researchers developed models linking fish sound levels to density, enabling quantitative assessments of fish spawning aggregations (FSAs).
Area of Science:
- Marine Biology
- Acoustic Ecology
- Fisheries Science
Background:
- Fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) produce distinct sounds.
- Passive acoustic methods are useful for identifying spawning timing and location.
- Quantitative biomass assessments using passive acoustics have been challenging due to difficulties relating sound levels to abundance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop models for estimating fish abundance and biomass from sound levels at FSAs.
- To investigate the relationship between sound levels and fish density in spawning aggregations.
Main Methods:
- Compared sound levels from spawning Gulf Corvina (Cynoscion othonopterus) with simultaneous density measurements from active acoustic surveys.
- Collected data in the Colorado River Delta, Mexico, during the formation of FSAs.
- Analyzed sound levels and fish densities across different tidal conditions and survey durations.
Main Results:
- Peak abundance estimates ranged from 1.53 to 1.55 million fish, equating to 2,133 to 2,145 metric tons of biomass.
- Sound levels varied from 0.02 to 12,738 Pa², with higher levels observed on outgoing tides.
- A stabilized linear relationship between sound levels and fish density was observed during the peak spawning period after high tide.
Conclusions:
- Models relating fish sound production to independently measured fish density can be generated to estimate abundance and biomass from sound levels at FSAs.
- Active acoustic methods are supported for estimating density, abundance, and biomass of fish at FSAs.
- Sound levels can be used to infer fish abundance and biomass estimates with appropriately scaled empirical relationships.
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