scholarly journals Detection range and efficiency of acoustic telemetry receivers in a connected wetland system

Hydrobiologia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 848 (8) ◽  
pp. 1825-1836
Author(s):  
Emily R. Winter ◽  
Andrew M. Hindes ◽  
Steve Lane ◽  
J. Robert Britton

AbstractAcoustic telemetry is an important tool for assessing the behavioural ecology of aquatic animals, but the performance of receivers can vary spatially and temporally according to changes in environmental gradients. Studies testing detection efficiency and/ or detection range are, therefore, important for data interpretation, although the most thorough range-testing approaches are often costly or impractical, such as the use of fixed sentinel tags. Here, stationary tag data (from study animals that had either died or expelled their tags) provided a substitute for the long-term monitoring of receiver performance in a wetland environment and was complemented by periodic boat-based range testing, with testing of the effects of environmental variables (water temperature, conductivity, transparency, precipitation, wind speed, acoustic noise) on detection efficiency (DE) and detection range (DR). Stationary tag DE was highly variable temporally, the most influential factors being water temperature and precipitation. Transparency was a strong predictor of DR and was dependent on chlorophyll concentration (a surrogate measure of algal density). These results highlight the value of stationary tag data in assessments of acoustic receiver performance. The high seasonal variability in DE and DR emphasises the need for long-term receiver monitoring to enable robust conclusions to be drawn from telemetry data.

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. T. Kessel ◽  
S. J. Cooke ◽  
M. R. Heupel ◽  
N. E. Hussey ◽  
C. A. Simpfendorfer ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulong Kuai ◽  
Natalie Klinard ◽  
Aaron Fisk ◽  
Timothy Johnson ◽  
Edmund Halfyard ◽  
...  

Abstract BackgroundThe successful use of acoustic telemetry to detect fish hinges on understanding the factors that control the acoustic range. The speed-of-sound in water is primarily a function of density, and in freshwater lakes density is primarily driven by temperature. The seasonal thermal stratification in the Great Lakes represent the strongest sound speed gradients in any aquatic system. Such speed-of-sound gradients can refract sound waves leading to greater divergence of acoustic signal, and hence more rapid attenuation. The changes in sound attenuation change the detection range of a telemetry array and hence influence the ability to monitor fish. We use three months of data from a sentinel array of V9 and V16 Vemco acoustic fish tags, and a record of temperature profiles to determine how changes in stratification influence acoustic range in eastern Lake Ontario. ResultWe interpret data from an acoustic telemetry array in Lake Ontario to show that changes in acoustic detection efficiency and range correlate strongly with changes in sound speed gradients due to thermal stratification. The strongest sound speed gradients of 10.38 ms-1/m crossing the thermocline occurred in late summer, which caused the sound speed difference between the top and bottom of the water column to be greater than 60 m/s. V9 tags transmitting across the thermocline could have their acoustic range reduced from >650 m to 350 m, while the more powerful V16 tags had their range reduced from >650 m to 450 m. In contrast we found that when the acoustic source and receiver were both transmitting below thermocline there was no change in range, even as the strength of sound speed gradient varied. ConclusionChanges in thermal stratification occur routinely in the Great Lakes, on timescales between months and days. The acoustic range can be reduced by as much as 50% compared to unstratified conditions when fish move across the thermocline. We recommend that researchers consider the influences of thermal stratification to acoustic telemetry when configuring receiver position.


2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-269
Author(s):  
N. I. Palshin ◽  
G. E. Zdorovennova ◽  
R. E. Zdorovennov ◽  
T. V. Efremova ◽  
G. G. Gavrilenko ◽  
...  

Data of long-term measurements of under-ice solar radiation, water temperature, and chlorophyll a are analyzed in four phytoplankton groups (green, diatoms, blue-green, and cryptophyte algae) in a small mesotrophic Vendyurskoe Lake (Karelia) in the period of spring under-ice convection. It is shown that, after thawing away of snow cover from lake surface, under-ice illumination increases, water temperature rises, the depth of convectively mixed layer (CML) increases, and microalga photosynthesis intensifies. In the daytime, chlorophyll a extremums appear in the CML, and, unlike the homogeneous characteristics (water electric conductivity, mineralization, etc.), the cells of different phytoplankton species can be used as tracers in studying convective mixing. A prognostic equation is obtained, reflecting an inverse dependence of the coefficients of variation of chlorophyll a concentration in CML on solar radiation fluxes, penetrating under ice bottom surface. A direct relationship was shown to exist between the increase in chlorophyll concentration in CML and its thickness.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulong Kuai ◽  
Natalie V. Klinard ◽  
Aaron T. Fisk ◽  
Timothy B. Johnson ◽  
Edmund A. Halfyard ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The successful use of acoustic telemetry to detect fish hinges on understanding the factors that control the acoustic range. The speed-of-sound in water is primarily a function of density, and in freshwater lakes density is primarily driven by temperature. The strong seasonal thermal stratification in the Great Lakes represent some of the steepest sound speed gradients in any aquatic system. Such speed-of-sound gradients can refract sound waves leading to greater divergence of acoustic signal, and hence more rapid attenuation. The changes in sound attenuation change the detection range of a telemetry array and hence influence the ability to monitor fish. We use 3 months of data from a sentinel array of V9 and V16 Vemco acoustic fish tags, and a record of temperature profiles to determine how changes in stratification influence acoustic range in eastern Lake Ontario. Result We interpret data from an acoustic telemetry array in Lake Ontario to show that changes in acoustic detection efficiency and range correlate strongly with changes in sound speed gradients due to thermal stratification. The steepest sound speed gradients of 10.38 m s−1/m crossing the thermocline occurred in late summer, which caused the sound speed difference between the top and bottom of the water column to be greater than 60 m/s. V9 tags transmitting across the thermocline could have their acoustic range reduced from > 650 m to 350 m, while the more powerful V16 tags had their range reduced from > 650 m to 450 m. In contrast we found that when the acoustic source and receiver were both transmitting below thermocline there was no change in range, even as the strength of sound speed gradient varied. Conclusion Changes in thermal stratification occur routinely in the Great Lakes, on timescales between months and days. The acoustic range can be reduced by as much as 50% compared to unstratified conditions when fish move across the thermocline. We recommend that researchers consider the influences of thermal stratification to acoustic telemetry when configuring receiver position.


Fishes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Amanda Babin ◽  
Lauren Fitzpatrick ◽  
Tommi Linnansaari ◽  
R. Allen Curry

Acoustic telemetry manufacturers report estimated detection ranges under idealized conditions, but environmental conditions such as water depth, substrate type, and turbulence can affect the range of reliable detection. Range testing of low (Vemco V7 136 dB re 1µPa@1m) and high power (V13 147 dB re 1µPa@1m) acoustic transmitters (tags) was performed near a hydropower generating station and its associated reservoir using both active (mobile; VR100) and passive (stationary; VR2W/VR2Tx) receivers. Low power tags are typically used to track small fish such as juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), whereas high power tags are typically used to track larger fish such as adult salmon. The results found herein were applied to concurrent salmon telemetry studies. Detection ranges of the low power tags were within 246–351 ± 20–70 m (mean ± SE), and the high power tags were within 537–1106 ± 53–272 m. Observed detection ranges were comparable or higher to manufacturer estimates for both tag types being detected by passive receivers, and were lower than expected for both tag types being detected by active receivers. Passive receivers were further tested by mooring a fixed sentinel tag (low power) on a receiver line at the hydropower site for 50 days. The sentinel tag detection range of 212 m was less than the expected range of 280–292 m, and was not found to be significantly impacted by wind speed. There was evidence of a hydropower effect on detection probability (up to 95% reduction) of both tag types for the active receiver, and detection ranges were significantly lower at the hydropower site than the reservoir site for the high power tag. The results of this study give insight to the initial design of acoustic telemetry studies beyond what can be gathered from manufacturer’s estimates, but rather near hydropower facilities and within large reservoirs; however, detection ranges reported herein do not replace the importance of range testing in site-specific conditions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 639 ◽  
pp. 169-183
Author(s):  
P Matich ◽  
BA Strickland ◽  
MR Heithaus

Chronic environmental change threatens biodiversity, but acute disturbance events present more rapid and immediate threats. In 2010, a cold snap across south Florida had wide-ranging impacts, including negative effects on recreational fisheries, agriculture, and ecological communities. Here, we use acoustic telemetry and historical longline monitoring to assess the long-term implications of this event on juvenile bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas in the Florida Everglades. Despite the loss of virtually all individuals (ca. 90%) within the Shark River Estuary during the cold snap, the catch per unit effort (CPUE) of age 0 sharks on longlines recovered through recruitment within 6-8 mo of the event. Acoustic telemetry revealed that habitat use patterns of age 0-2 sharks reached an equilibrium in 4-6 yr. In contrast, the CPUE and habitat use of age 3 sharks required 5-7 yr to resemble pre-cold snap patterns. Environmental conditions and predation risk returned to previous levels within 1 yr of the cold snap, but abundances of some prey species remained depressed for several years. Reduced prey availability may have altered the profitability of some microhabitats after the cold snap, leading to more rapid ontogenetic shifts to marine waters among sharks for several years. Accelerated ontogenetic shifts coupled with inter-individual behavioral variability of bull sharks likely led to a slower recovery rate than predicted based on overall shark CPUE. While intrinsic variation driven by stochasticity in dynamic ecosystems may increase the resistance of species to chronic and acute disturbance, it may also increase recovery time in filling the diversity of niches occupied prior to disturbance if resistive capacity is exceeded.


Universe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Valentina Raskina ◽  
Filip Křížek

The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) experiment at CERN will upgrade its Inner Tracking System (ITS) detector. The new ITS will consist of seven coaxial cylindrical layers of ALPIDE silicon sensors which are based on Monolithic Active Pixel Sensor (MAPS) technology. We have studied the radiation hardness of ALPIDE sensors using a 30 MeV proton beam provided by the cyclotron U-120M of the Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Řež. In this paper, these long-term measurements will be described. After being irradiated up to the total ionization dose 2.7 Mrad and non-ionizing energy loss 2.7 × 10 13 1 MeV n eq · cm - 2 , ALPIDE sensors fulfill ITS upgrade project technical design requirements in terms of detection efficiency and fake-hit rate.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1109
Author(s):  
Nobuaki Kimura ◽  
Kei Ishida ◽  
Daichi Baba

Long-term climate change may strongly affect the aquatic environment in mid-latitude water resources. In particular, it can be demonstrated that temporal variations in surface water temperature in a reservoir have strong responses to air temperature. We adopted deep neural networks (DNNs) to understand the long-term relationships between air temperature and surface water temperature, because DNNs can easily deal with nonlinear data, including uncertainties, that are obtained in complicated climate and aquatic systems. In general, DNNs cannot appropriately predict unexperienced data (i.e., out-of-range training data), such as future water temperature. To improve this limitation, our idea is to introduce a transfer learning (TL) approach. The observed data were used to train a DNN-based model. Continuous data (i.e., air temperature) ranging over 150 years to pre-training to climate change, which were obtained from climate models and include a downscaling model, were used to predict past and future surface water temperatures in the reservoir. The results showed that the DNN-based model with the TL approach was able to approximately predict based on the difference between past and future air temperatures. The model suggested that the occurrences in the highest water temperature increased, and the occurrences in the lowest water temperature decreased in the future predictions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie V. Klinard ◽  
Edmund A. Halfyard ◽  
Jordan K. Matley ◽  
Aaron T. Fisk ◽  
Timothy B. Johnson

Abstract Background Acoustic telemetry is an increasingly common method used to address ecological questions about the movement, behaviour, and survival of freshwater and marine organisms. The variable performance of acoustic telemetry equipment and ability of receivers to detect signals from transmitters have been well studied in marine and coral reef environments to inform study design and improve data interpretation. Despite the growing use of acoustic telemetry in large, deep, freshwater systems, detection efficiency and range, particularly in relation to environmental variation, are poorly understood. We used an array of 90 69-kHz acoustic receivers and 8 sentinel range transmitters of varying power output deployed at different depths and locations approximately 100–9500 m apart for 215 days to evaluate how the detection efficiency of acoustic receivers varied spatially and temporally in relation to environmental conditions. Results The maximum distance that tags were detected ranged from 5.9 to 9.3 km. Shallow tags consistently had lower detection efficiency than deep tags of the same power output and detection efficiency declined through the winter months (December–February) of the study. In addition to the distance between tag and receiver, thermocline strength, surface water velocity, ice thickness, water temperature, depth range between tag and receiver, and number of fish detections contributed to explaining variation in detection efficiency throughout the study period. Furthermore, the most significant models incorporated interactions between several environmental variables and tag–receiver distance, demonstrating the complex temporal and spatial relationships that exist in heterogeneous environments. Conclusions Relying on individual environmental variables in isolation to interpret receiver performance, and thus animal behaviour, may be erroneous when detection efficiency varies across distances, depths, or tag types. As acoustic telemetry becomes more widely used to study ecology and inform management, it is crucial to understand its limitations in heterogeneous environments, such as freshwater lakes, to improve the quality and interpretation of data. We recommend that in situ range testing and retrospective analysis of detection efficiency be incorporated into study design for telemetry projects. Furthermore, we caution against oversimplifying the dynamic relationship between detection efficiency and environmental conditions for the sake of producing a correction that can be applied directly to detection data of tagged animals when the intended correction may not be justified.


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