Nocturnal surveys reveal novel insights into the community dynamics of an anchialine ecosystem from The Bahamas

Abstract

Understanding the composition and structure of marine animal assemblages across space and time is essential in the establishment of effective management frameworks, particularly for holistic approaches to ecosystem conservation. Baited remote underwater video (BRUV) surveys are a well-established tool used in assessing relative abundances of marine fauna but are not commonly used in enclosed environments such as lakes. Sweetings Pond is an anchialine lake situated on the island of Eleuthera in The Bahamas that remains relatively undocumented, with only a single census available from 1983, yet has experienced an increase in stress from anthropogenic activity. Here, we investigated differences in community composition between sites and attempted to identify the species/benthic components driving changes using baited video surveys, before exploring differences in community structure between day-night periods. Nine species were identified over the 3780 min of BRUV footage analyzed, which was comparable to 1983 estimates. No difference in animal assemblages was seen between sites and no correlation with benthic composition was present. However, nocturnal replicates displayed higher median animal abundance and species richness than diurnal replicates, potentially resulting from a sequential food web aggregation around the light source. A number of unique, opportunistic feeding behaviors were also observed which opens avenues for future study. Overall, this study presents BRUVS as a viable and streamlined tool for managers of enclosed aquatic ecosystems to rapidly assess the system's macrofauna across day-night periods, supporting the requirements of an ecosystem-based management approach.