Abstract
Baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) are increasingly being used to evaluate and monitor reef communities. Many BRUVS studies compare multiple sites sampled at single time points that may differ from the sampling time of another site. As BRUVS use grows in its application to provide data relevant to sustainable management, marine protected area success, and overall reef health, understanding repeatability of sampling results is vital. We examined the repeatability of BRUVS results for the elasmobranch community both within and between seasons and years, and explored environmental factors affecting abundances at two sites in Indonesia. On 956 BRUVS, 1139 elasmobranchs (69% rays, 31% sharks) were observed. We found consistent results in species composition and abundances within a season and across years. However, elasmobranch abundances were significantly higher in the wet season. The elasmobranch community was significantly different between the two sites sampled, one site being more coastal and easily accessed by fishermen. Our results demonstrate that while BRUVS are a reliable and repeatable method for surveying elasmobranchs, care must be taken in the timing of sampling between different regions to ensure that any differences observed are due to inherent differences amongst sampling areas as opposed to seasonal dissimilarities.
Highlights
Sampling methods that yield consistent results under equivalent conditions are fundamental to ecological research [1, 2]
The results of this study show that Baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) are an appropriate survey method to capture spatial and temporal variation in elasmobranch abundances
We showed that BRUVS deployed in the same location, even when deployed within one month of initial sampling, can provide consistent results for both elasmobranch abundance and assemblage
Summary
Sampling methods that yield consistent results under equivalent conditions are fundamental to ecological research [1, 2]. Completing research in a laboratory setting enables factors to be controlled for consistency to ensure results are a direct effect of what is being tested [3]. Laboratory experiments can be completed with a planned number of individuals to examine the consistency of results within a population [4, 5]. Repeatability of BRUVS within and between seasons analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. One of the funders (Wasage Divers) provided support in the form of salaries for authors M.K., but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of this author are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section
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