Using action cameras to estimate the abundance and habitat use of threatened fish in clear headwater streams

Snorkel and electrofishing surveys are the traditional baseline methods for fish surveys in clear headwater streams. However, action cameras provide a non-harmful alternative to monitor freshwater fish populations to develop informed conservation management initiatives. In this paper, estimates from...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:African journal of aquatic science 2020-07, Vol.45 (3), p.372-377
Main Authors: Hannweg, B, Marr, SM, Bloy, LE, Weyl, OLF
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Cameras
Electric fishing
Endemic species
Environmental monitoring
Equivalence
Estimates
Fish
Fish conservation
Fish populations
Freshwater
Freshwater fish
Freshwater fishes
Habitat selection
Habitat utilization
Habitats
Headwaters
Inland water environment
MaxN
Microhabitat
Microhabitats
monitoring
Polls & surveys
Rivers
snorkel surveys
Streams
Surveying
Surveys
Threatened species
underwater video analysis
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Summary:Snorkel and electrofishing surveys are the traditional baseline methods for fish surveys in clear headwater streams. However, action cameras provide a non-harmful alternative to monitor freshwater fish populations to develop informed conservation management initiatives. In this paper, estimates from photographs and videos from action cameras are compared with snorkel survey estimates of the density of a threatened endemic minnow species in a headwater stream, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Photograph-based relative abundances of fish summed over five microhabitats in each pool returned equivalent results to snorkel surveys, whereas the equivalent video-based abundance estimates were approximately 50% greater than the snorkel estimates. Therefore, photograph-derived estimates could be used as an alternative to snorkel surveys for fish population monitoring and habitat use studies in clear headwater streams.
ISSN:1608-5914
1727-9364
DOI:10.2989/16085914.2019.1701404