Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities

© 2015 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 2015. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.Acoustic survey methods are useful to estimate the distribution, abundance, and biomass of mesopelagic fish, a key component of open ocean ecosystems. Ho...

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Main Authors: Davison, P., Koslow, J., Kloser, Rudy
Format: Journal Article
Published: Oxford University Press 2009 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52936
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author Davison, P.
Koslow, J.
Kloser, Rudy
author_facet Davison, P.
Koslow, J.
Kloser, Rudy
author_sort Davison, P.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2015 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 2015. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.Acoustic survey methods are useful to estimate the distribution, abundance, and biomass of mesopelagic fish, a key component of open ocean ecosystems. However, mesopelagic fish pose several challenges for acoustic biomass estimation based on their small size, wide depth range, mixed aggregations, and length-dependent acoustic reflectance, which differentiate them from the larger epipelagic and neritic fish for which these methods were developed. Foremost, there is a strong effect of depth on swimbladder resonance, so acoustic surveys of mesopelagic fish must incorporate depth-stratification. Additionally, the 1-3 cm juveniles of many species are not only more abundant, but can also be stronger acoustic backscatterers than the larger adults that comprise most of the biomass. The dominant species in terms of biomass may thus be weak acoustic backscatters. Failure to properly incorporate depth, the full size distribution, and certain less-abundant species into mesopelagic acoustic analyses could lead to errors in estimated biomass of up to three orders of magnitude. Thus, thorough validation, or "ground-truthing ", of the species composition, depth structure, population size distribution, capture efficiency of the sampling device, and acoustic properties of the fish present is critical for credible acoustic estimates of mesopelagic fish biomass. This is not insurmountable, but requires more ancillary data than is usually collected.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-529362017-09-13T15:38:43Z Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities Davison, P. Koslow, J. Kloser, Rudy © 2015 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea 2015. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.Acoustic survey methods are useful to estimate the distribution, abundance, and biomass of mesopelagic fish, a key component of open ocean ecosystems. However, mesopelagic fish pose several challenges for acoustic biomass estimation based on their small size, wide depth range, mixed aggregations, and length-dependent acoustic reflectance, which differentiate them from the larger epipelagic and neritic fish for which these methods were developed. Foremost, there is a strong effect of depth on swimbladder resonance, so acoustic surveys of mesopelagic fish must incorporate depth-stratification. Additionally, the 1-3 cm juveniles of many species are not only more abundant, but can also be stronger acoustic backscatterers than the larger adults that comprise most of the biomass. The dominant species in terms of biomass may thus be weak acoustic backscatters. Failure to properly incorporate depth, the full size distribution, and certain less-abundant species into mesopelagic acoustic analyses could lead to errors in estimated biomass of up to three orders of magnitude. Thus, thorough validation, or "ground-truthing ", of the species composition, depth structure, population size distribution, capture efficiency of the sampling device, and acoustic properties of the fish present is critical for credible acoustic estimates of mesopelagic fish biomass. This is not insurmountable, but requires more ancillary data than is usually collected. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52936 10.1093/icesjms/fsv023 Oxford University Press 2009 unknown
spellingShingle Davison, P.
Koslow, J.
Kloser, Rudy
Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title_full Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title_fullStr Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title_full_unstemmed Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title_short Acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: Backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
title_sort acoustic biomass estimation of mesopelagic fish: backscattering from individuals, populations, and communities
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/52936