In:
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Acoustical Society of America (ASA), Vol. 116, No. 4_Supplement ( 2004-10-01), p. 2486-2486
Abstract:
Recent studies have highlighted the shortcomings of regional trawl surveys for quantifying abundance of demersal fishes in rugged habitats. Many species show strong affinities to areas of high topographic relief and rugosity, therefore precluding sampling by bottom trawl gears. Consequently, advanced survey technologies such as submersibles and camera sleds have been utilized to survey demersal fishes in situ. One prerequisite in extrapolating densities of demersal fishes observed in situ is the mapping of benthic habitats beyond the observational extent of submersibles. Habitat characteristics observed from submersible and ROV dives in the late 1980s, 2000, and 2001 were used to establish habitat classes that have been statistically shown to correlate with demersal fish distributions. Those habitat characteristics were then extrapolated over the extent of a multibeam sonar survey conducted in 1998 using quantitative parameters derived from high-resolution bathymetric and acoustic backscatter data. The resultant map predicts the coverage of four lithologic habitat classes: mud (unconsolidated), sand (unconsolidated), boulder/cobble (high acoustic reflectivity), and rock outcrop (high vertical relief). Those four habitat classes will facilitate the extrapolation of fish densities to the larger spatial scales at which resident fish populations and physiographic provinces occur.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0001-4966
,
1520-8524
Language:
English
Publisher:
Acoustical Society of America (ASA)
Publication Date:
2004
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461063-2
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