Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises

Laura D. Williamson; Kate L. Brookes; Beth E. Scott; Isla M. Graham; Gareth Bradbury; Philip S. Hammond; Paul M. Thompson

doi:10.1111/2041-210X.12538

Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises

Laura D. Williamson, Kate L. Brookes, Beth E. Scott, Isla M. Graham, Gareth Bradbury, Philip S. Hammond, Paul M. Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

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Abstract

Abstract
1.Robust estimates of the density or abundance of cetaceans are required to support a wide range of ecological studies and inform management decisions. Considerable effort has been put into the development of line-transect sampling techniques to obtain estimates of absolute density from aerial and boat-based visual surveys. Surveys of cetaceans using acoustic loggers or digital cameras provide alternative methods to estimate relative density that have the potential to reduce cost and provide a verifiable record of all detections. However the ability of these methods to provide reliable estimates of relative density has yet to be established.

2.These methodologies were compared by conducting aerial visual line-transect surveys (n=10 days) and digital video strip-transect surveys (n=4 days) in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Simultaneous acoustic data were collected from moored echolocation detectors (C-PODs) at 58 locations across the study site. Density surface modelling (DSM) of visual survey data was used to estimate spatial variation in relative harbour porpoise density on a 4x4 km grid. DSM was also performed on the digital survey data, and the resulting model output compared to that from visual survey data. Estimates of relative density from visual surveys around acoustic monitoring sites were compared with several metrics previously used to characterise variation in acoustic detections of echolocation clicks.

3. There was a strong correlation between estimates of relative density from visual surveys and digital video surveys (Spearman's ρ=0.85). A correction to account for animals missed on the transect line (previously calculated for visual aerial surveys of harbour porpoise in the North Sea (Hammond et al. 2013)) was used to convert relative density from the visual surveys to absolute density. This allowed calculation of the first estimate of a proxy for detection probability in digital video surveys, suggesting that 61% (CV=0.53) of harbour porpoises were detected. There was also a strong correlation between acoustic detections and density with a Spearman's ρ=0.73 for detection positive hours.

4.These results provide confidence in the emerging use of digital video and acoustic surveys for studying the density of small cetaceans and their responses to environmental and anthropogenic change.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	762-769
Number of pages	8
Journal	Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Volume	7
Issue number	7
Early online date	28 Feb 2016
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12538
Publication status	Published - Jul 2016

Bibliographical note

Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Erik Rexstad and Rob Williams for useful reviews of this manuscript. The collection of visual and acoustic data was funded by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, the Scottish Government, Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment (COWRIE) and Oil & Gas UK. Digital aerial surveys were funded by Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd and additional funding for analysis of the combined datasets was provided by Marine Scotland. Collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Marine Scotland was supported by MarCRF. We thank colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, Moray First Marine, NERI, Hi-Def Aerial Surveying Ltd and Ravenair for essential support in the field, particularly Tim Barton, Bill Ruck, Rasmus Nielson and Dave Rutter. Thanks also to Andy Webb, David Borchers, Len Thomas, Kelly McLeod, David L. Miller, Dinara Sadykova and Thomas Cornulier for advice on survey design and statistical approache.

Data Accessibility
Data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cf04g

Keywords

harbour porpoise
abundance
acoustiscs
C-POD
density surface modelling
distance sampling
availability
digital survey

Access to Document

10.1111/2041-210X.12538Licence: CC BY

Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises
© 2016 The Authors. Methods in Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Final published version, 1.36 MBLicence: CC BY

Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises
Williamson, L. D. (Contributor), Brookes, K. L. (Contributor), Scott, B. E. (Contributor), Graham, I. M. (Contributor), Bradbury, G. (Contributor), Hammond, P. S. (Contributor), Thompson, P. (Contributor) & Kate L., B. (Creator), DRYAD, 1 Jan 2017
DOI: 10.5061/dryad.cf04g, http://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.cf04g
Dataset

Paul Thompson
Person: Academic

Reducing environmental impacts and construction costs at offshore wind farms
Paul Thompson (Coordinator), Isla Graham (Participant), Barbara Cheney (Participant) & Kate Louise Brookes (Participant)
Impact

Cite this

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abstract = "Abstract1.Robust estimates of the density or abundance of cetaceans are required to support a wide range of ecological studies and inform management decisions. Considerable effort has been put into the development of line-transect sampling techniques to obtain estimates of absolute density from aerial and boat-based visual surveys. Surveys of cetaceans using acoustic loggers or digital cameras provide alternative methods to estimate relative density that have the potential to reduce cost and provide a verifiable record of all detections. However the ability of these methods to provide reliable estimates of relative density has yet to be established.2.These methodologies were compared by conducting aerial visual line-transect surveys (n=10 days) and digital video strip-transect surveys (n=4 days) in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Simultaneous acoustic data were collected from moored echolocation detectors (C-PODs) at 58 locations across the study site. Density surface modelling (DSM) of visual survey data was used to estimate spatial variation in relative harbour porpoise density on a 4x4 km grid. DSM was also performed on the digital survey data, and the resulting model output compared to that from visual survey data. Estimates of relative density from visual surveys around acoustic monitoring sites were compared with several metrics previously used to characterise variation in acoustic detections of echolocation clicks.3. There was a strong correlation between estimates of relative density from visual surveys and digital video surveys (Spearman's ρ=0.85). A correction to account for animals missed on the transect line (previously calculated for visual aerial surveys of harbour porpoise in the North Sea (Hammond et al. 2013)) was used to convert relative density from the visual surveys to absolute density. This allowed calculation of the first estimate of a proxy for detection probability in digital video surveys, suggesting that 61% (CV=0.53) of harbour porpoises were detected. There was also a strong correlation between acoustic detections and density with a Spearman's ρ=0.73 for detection positive hours.4.These results provide confidence in the emerging use of digital video and acoustic surveys for studying the density of small cetaceans and their responses to environmental and anthropogenic change.",

keywords = "harbour porpoise, abundance, acoustiscs, C-POD, density surface modelling, distance sampling, availability, digital survey",

author = "Williamson, {Laura D.} and Brookes, {Kate L.} and Scott, {Beth E.} and Graham, {Isla M.} and Gareth Bradbury and Hammond, {Philip S.} and Thompson, {Paul M.}",

note = "Acknowledgements We would like to thank Erik Rexstad and Rob Williams for useful reviews of this manuscript. The collection of visual and acoustic data was funded by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, the Scottish Government, Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment (COWRIE) and Oil & Gas UK. Digital aerial surveys were funded by Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd and additional funding for analysis of the combined datasets was provided by Marine Scotland. Collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Marine Scotland was supported by MarCRF. We thank colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, Moray First Marine, NERI, Hi-Def Aerial Surveying Ltd and Ravenair for essential support in the field, particularly Tim Barton, Bill Ruck, Rasmus Nielson and Dave Rutter. Thanks also to Andy Webb, David Borchers, Len Thomas, Kelly McLeod, David L. Miller, Dinara Sadykova and Thomas Cornulier for advice on survey design and statistical approache. Data Accessibility Data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cf04g ",

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AU - Hammond, Philip S.

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N1 - Acknowledgements We would like to thank Erik Rexstad and Rob Williams for useful reviews of this manuscript. The collection of visual and acoustic data was funded by the UK Department of Energy & Climate Change, the Scottish Government, Collaborative Offshore Wind Research into the Environment (COWRIE) and Oil & Gas UK. Digital aerial surveys were funded by Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd and additional funding for analysis of the combined datasets was provided by Marine Scotland. Collaboration between the University of Aberdeen and Marine Scotland was supported by MarCRF. We thank colleagues at the University of Aberdeen, Moray First Marine, NERI, Hi-Def Aerial Surveying Ltd and Ravenair for essential support in the field, particularly Tim Barton, Bill Ruck, Rasmus Nielson and Dave Rutter. Thanks also to Andy Webb, David Borchers, Len Thomas, Kelly McLeod, David L. Miller, Dinara Sadykova and Thomas Cornulier for advice on survey design and statistical approache. Data Accessibility Data are available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cf04g

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N2 - Abstract1.Robust estimates of the density or abundance of cetaceans are required to support a wide range of ecological studies and inform management decisions. Considerable effort has been put into the development of line-transect sampling techniques to obtain estimates of absolute density from aerial and boat-based visual surveys. Surveys of cetaceans using acoustic loggers or digital cameras provide alternative methods to estimate relative density that have the potential to reduce cost and provide a verifiable record of all detections. However the ability of these methods to provide reliable estimates of relative density has yet to be established.2.These methodologies were compared by conducting aerial visual line-transect surveys (n=10 days) and digital video strip-transect surveys (n=4 days) in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Simultaneous acoustic data were collected from moored echolocation detectors (C-PODs) at 58 locations across the study site. Density surface modelling (DSM) of visual survey data was used to estimate spatial variation in relative harbour porpoise density on a 4x4 km grid. DSM was also performed on the digital survey data, and the resulting model output compared to that from visual survey data. Estimates of relative density from visual surveys around acoustic monitoring sites were compared with several metrics previously used to characterise variation in acoustic detections of echolocation clicks.3. There was a strong correlation between estimates of relative density from visual surveys and digital video surveys (Spearman's ρ=0.85). A correction to account for animals missed on the transect line (previously calculated for visual aerial surveys of harbour porpoise in the North Sea (Hammond et al. 2013)) was used to convert relative density from the visual surveys to absolute density. This allowed calculation of the first estimate of a proxy for detection probability in digital video surveys, suggesting that 61% (CV=0.53) of harbour porpoises were detected. There was also a strong correlation between acoustic detections and density with a Spearman's ρ=0.73 for detection positive hours.4.These results provide confidence in the emerging use of digital video and acoustic surveys for studying the density of small cetaceans and their responses to environmental and anthropogenic change.

AB - Abstract1.Robust estimates of the density or abundance of cetaceans are required to support a wide range of ecological studies and inform management decisions. Considerable effort has been put into the development of line-transect sampling techniques to obtain estimates of absolute density from aerial and boat-based visual surveys. Surveys of cetaceans using acoustic loggers or digital cameras provide alternative methods to estimate relative density that have the potential to reduce cost and provide a verifiable record of all detections. However the ability of these methods to provide reliable estimates of relative density has yet to be established.2.These methodologies were compared by conducting aerial visual line-transect surveys (n=10 days) and digital video strip-transect surveys (n=4 days) in the Moray Firth, Scotland. Simultaneous acoustic data were collected from moored echolocation detectors (C-PODs) at 58 locations across the study site. Density surface modelling (DSM) of visual survey data was used to estimate spatial variation in relative harbour porpoise density on a 4x4 km grid. DSM was also performed on the digital survey data, and the resulting model output compared to that from visual survey data. Estimates of relative density from visual surveys around acoustic monitoring sites were compared with several metrics previously used to characterise variation in acoustic detections of echolocation clicks.3. There was a strong correlation between estimates of relative density from visual surveys and digital video surveys (Spearman's ρ=0.85). A correction to account for animals missed on the transect line (previously calculated for visual aerial surveys of harbour porpoise in the North Sea (Hammond et al. 2013)) was used to convert relative density from the visual surveys to absolute density. This allowed calculation of the first estimate of a proxy for detection probability in digital video surveys, suggesting that 61% (CV=0.53) of harbour porpoises were detected. There was also a strong correlation between acoustic detections and density with a Spearman's ρ=0.73 for detection positive hours.4.These results provide confidence in the emerging use of digital video and acoustic surveys for studying the density of small cetaceans and their responses to environmental and anthropogenic change.

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JO - Methods in Ecology and Evolution

JF - Methods in Ecology and Evolution

IS - 7

ER -

Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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Echolocation detections and digital video surveys provide reliable estimates of the relative density of harbour porpoises

Profiles

Paul Thompson

Impacts

Reducing environmental impacts and construction costs at offshore wind farms

Cite this