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Marine and Freshwater Research Marine and Freshwater Research Society
Advances in the aquatic sciences
REVIEW

Automated acoustic tracking of aquatic animals: scales, design and deployment of listening station arrays

M. R. Heupel A F , J. M. Semmens B C and A. J. Hobday D E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Center for Shark Research, Mote Marine Laboratory, 1600 Ken Thompson Parkway, Sarasota, Florida 34236, USA.

B Marine Research Laboratories, Tasmanian Aquaculture and Fisheries Institute, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 49, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.

C Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, PO Box 3232, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 3X8, Canada.

D School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 5, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.

E CSIRO Marine Research, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: mheupel@mote.org

Marine and Freshwater Research 57(1) 1-13 https://doi.org/10.1071/MF05091
Submitted: 24 May 2005  Accepted: 11 November 2005   Published: 17 January 2006

Abstract

The recent introduction of low-cost, moored data-logging acoustic receivers has provided opportunities for tracking marine organisms over small (hundreds of metres) and large scales (hundreds of kilometres). Acoustic receivers have been deployed in many different environments to examine specific hypotheses regarding the movement of aquatic species. This technology provides many advantages for studying aquatic animal movement patterns, but also has limitations and provides unique difficulties for users. Study design, applications, advantages and limitations are discussed with examples from past and current studies. Data management and analysis techniques are in their infancy and few standardised techniques exist. Complications with data management and potential data analysis techniques are discussed. Examples from the literature are utilised wherever possible to provide useful references.

Extra keywords: acoustic monitoring, movement patterns, telemetry, tracking.


Acknowledgments

This paper arose from discussions at the Australian and International Acoustic Telemetry Workshop, Australian Marine Sciences Association (AMSA) Annual Conference, Hobart, Australia, July 2004. This workshop was supported by AMSA, The Census of Marine Life, Vemco Ltd and Lotek Wireless Ltd. Funding from the National Science Foundation (Award No OCE-9911295) and the Mote Scientific Foundation supported work by MRH. Acoustic monitoring research by JS has been supported by the Australian Research Council (Linkage Grants Nos C00107233 and LE0237912) and the University of Tasmania (Institutional Research Grant No S12591). Research by AH has been supported by the Japan-Australia Southern Bluefin Tuna Recruitment Monitoring Program and CSIRO Marine Research.


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