Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T21:59:58.668Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Manatee habitat characterization using side-scan sonar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 November 2019

Mindy J. McLarty Open the ORCID record for Mindy J. McLarty [Opens in a new window] ,
Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske ,
Anmari Alvarez-Alemán  and
Jorge Angulo-Valdés
Mindy J. McLarty*
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI49104, USA
Daniel Gonzalez-Socoloske
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI49104, USA
Anmari Alvarez-Alemán
Affiliation:
Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, Universidad de La Habana, Havana, Cuba Collegium of Natural Sciences, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL33711USA
Jorge Angulo-Valdés
Affiliation:
Collegium of Natural Sciences, Eckerd College, St. Petersburg, FL33711USA
*
Author for correspondence: Mindy J. McLarty, E-mail: mindy.mclarty@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identifying benthic substrates is important to researchers studying aquatic organisms in fresh and salt water systems. Benthic substrates are often not visible from the surface making it necessary to find another method to gather these data. Previous research has demonstrated that low cost side-scan sonar is a reliable way to identify hard substrates, such as rock and gravel, in a small, freshwater stream. In this study, the reliability of the side-scan sonar to accurately identify softer substrates such as grass and mud was tested in a large, brackish lagoon system. A total area of 11.55 km2 was surveyed with the sonar. Videos and pictures were taken at various points to groundtruth the sonar images and provide a measure of accuracy. Five substrate types were identified: dense seagrass, sparse seagrass, mangrove soil, mangrove soil with rock, and silt. Unidentifiable substrates were classified as unknown. A manually zoned benthic substrate map was created from the sonar recordings. Dense seagrass was most accurately identified. Sparse seagrass was the least accurately identified. A bathymetric map was also created from the sonar recordings.

Keywords

Bathymetrybenthic substratescoastal lagoonCubahabitatside scan sonar
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom , Volume 100 , Issue 1 , February 2020 , pp. 173 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvarez-Alemán, A, Angulo-Valdés, JA, Alfonso, EG, Powell, JA and Taylor, CR (2017) Occurrence of the endangered Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus in a marine protected area, Isla de la Juventud, Cuba. Oryx 51, 324–331.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arévalo-González, GK, Castelblanco-Martínez, DN, Sanchez-Palomino, P, Lopez-Arevalo, HF and Marmontel, M (2014) Complementary methods to estimate population size of Antillean Manatees (Sirenia: Trichechidae) at Cienaga de Paredes, Santander, Colombia. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6, 5830–5837.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blondel, P (2009) The Handbook of Sidescan Sonar. Chichester: Praxis Publishing.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burguera, A and Oliver, G (2016) High-resolution underwater mapping using side-scan sonar. PLoS ONE 11, e0146396.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buscombe, D (2017) Shallow water benthic imaging and substrate characterization using recreational-grade sidescan-sonar. Environmental Modelling & Software 89, 1–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Castelblanco-Martínez, DN, dos Reis, V and de Thoisy, B (2018) How to detect an elusive aquatic mammal in complex environments? A study of the endangered Antillean manatee Trichechus manatus manatus in French Guiana. Oryx 52, 382–392.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flowers, HJ and Hightower, JE (2013) A novel approach to surveying sturgeon using side-scan sonar and occupancy modeling. Marine and Coastal Fisheries 5, 211–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garner, JT, Buntin, ML, Fobian, TB, Holifield, JT, Tarpley, TA and Johnson, PD (2016) Use of side-scan sonar to locate Tulotoma magnifica (Conrad, 1834) (Gastropoda: Viviparidae) in the Alabama River. Freshwater Mollusk Biology and Conservation 19, 51–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalez-Socoloske, D (2007) Status and Distribution of Manatees in Honduras and the Use of Side-Scan Sonar (MS thesis). Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, USA.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Socoloske, D (2013) Aspects of the Feeding Ecology of the Antillean Manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) in the Wetlands of Tabasco, Mexico (PhD thesis). Duke University, Durham, USA.Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Socoloske, D and Olivera-Gomez, LD (2012) Gentle giants in dark waters: using side-scan sonar for manatee research. Open Remote Sensing Journal 5, 1–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gonzalez-Socoloske, D, Olivera-Gomez, LD and Ford, RE (2009) Detection of free-ranging West Indian manatees Trichechus manatus using side-scan sonar. Endangered Species Research 8, 249–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, A, Rahman, AF, Kline, R and Rahman, MS (2018) Side scan sonar: a cost-efficient alternative method for measuring seagrass cover in shallow environments. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 207, 250–258.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guzman, HM and Condit, R (2017) Abundance of manatees in Panama estimated from side-scan sonar. Wildlife Society Bulletin 41, 556–565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaeser, AJ and Litts, TL (2008) An assessment of deadhead logs and large woody debris using side scan sonar and field surveys in streams of southwest Georgia. Fisheries 33, 589–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaeser, AJ and Litts, TL (2010) A novel technique for mapping habitat in navigable streams using low-cost side scan sonar. Fisheries 35, 163–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCarty, AL (2014) Habitat Associations of Lower Mississippi River Floodplain Fishes on St. Catherine Creek National Wildlife Refuge (MS thesis). Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, USA.Google Scholar
Newton, RS and Stefanon, A (1975) Application of side-scan sonar in marine biology. Marine Biology 31, 287–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Puc-Carrasco, G, Morales-Vela, B, Olivera-Gomez, LD and Gonzalez-Solis, D (2017) First field-based estimate of Antillean manatee abundance in the San Pedro River system suggests large errors in current estimates for Mexico. Ciencias Marinas 43, 285–299.CrossRefGoogle Scholar