Remotely operated vehicles as alternatives to snorkellers for video-based marine research
Journal Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
Capabilities of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have increased substantially in the last decade, and mini-ROV designs are now able to conduct visual research frequently conducted by snorkellers or divers in shallow marine environments. There are logistical, financial and experimental benefits of using mini-ROVs over snorkellers or divers, yet the adoption of mini-ROVs for common shallow underwater research tasks has not been widespread. To assess the capabilities of mini-ROVs to sample fish communities we compared the results produced by a mini-ROV to that of snorkellers for performing two of the most common marine video-based research activities (1) underwater visual fish census and (2) observing and tracking fish behaviour. Results of both activities suggested that the fish community observed by the mini-ROV was not distinguishable to that observed by the snorkellers, however, the mini-ROV detected significantly more fish (39% higher abundance) and greater diversity (24% higher). When tracking butterflyfish behaviour, video obtained from the mini-mini-ROV was as efficient as a snorkeller at finding and tracking individuals. Video from the mini-ROV produced comparable responses to that from snorkellers with hand-held GoPros, although over the course of tracks the response between the two methods differed, with a decrease in refuge time for snorkeller video and an increase in tailbeat rate for the mini-ROV video. Our study shows that video obtained from mini-ROVs can be used for research in shallow marine environments when direct manipulations are not required. We predict the research capabilities of mini-ROVs to increase substantially in the coming years, which should cement the use of this tool for research across all marine environments.
Journal
Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Publication Name
N/A
Volume
522
ISBN/ISSN
0022-0981
Edition
N/A
Issue
N/A
Pages Count
10
Location
N/A
Publisher
Elsevier
Publisher Url
N/A
Publisher Location
N/A
Publish Date
N/A
Url
N/A
Date
N/A
EISSN
N/A
DOI
10.1016/j.jembe.2019.151253