The influence of tilt angle on the acoustic target strength of the Japanese common squid (Todarodes pacificus)

Abstract

Abstract To measure the influence of changes in tilt angle on the acoustic target strength (TS) of the Japanese common squid (Todarodes pacificus), we conducted a series of experiments to estimate TS in relation to tilt angle and swimming angle. Swimming angle was measured in a seawater tank using two infrared, underwater cameras under dark conditions. Ex situ measurements of TS in relation to tilt angle on live specimens using a fishhook and cage method were then conducted at 38 and 120 kHz; mantle length (ML) ranged from 21 to 27 cm (mean 24.75 cm). For the more precise TS measurement with tilt angle, another set of ex situ TS measurements relative to tilt angle was made at 38 and 120 kHz on tethered, anesthetized specimens in seawater. The mean swimming angle was −17.7° (±12.7° s.d.). The mean TS varied from −48.6 to −44.6 dB and was relatively higher at 120 kHz than at 38 kHz, in the order of 0.7 and 2.5 dB. The empirical relationship between TS (dB) and ML (cm) is given by TS = 20 log10(ML) − 75.4 (r = 0.81) at 38 kHz or TS = 20 log10(ML) − 73.5 (r = 0.64) at 120 kHz. Based on the tethered method for the anesthetized squid, the mean standardized TS values (b20) were found to be highly correlated with the tilt angle, and the resultant fitted equations for b20 were expressed as: b20 = −73.3 + 0.48 × Θ + 0.0122 × Θ2 + 0.00016 × Θ3 for 38 kHz and b20 = −72.6 + 0.53 × Θ + 0.0134 × Θ2 + 0.00014 × Θ3 for 120 kHz, where Θ is the negative tilt angle in degrees. The mean TS based on the measurements using live squid was higher than that of tethered measurements, i.e., 2.6 dB at 38 kHz and 4.0 dB at 120 kHz. The higher mean TS in the ex situ measurements for the live squid can be explained by the influence of the low tilt angle on the overall TS data. The results can be used to understand the influence of tilt angle on the TS of Todarodes pacificus and thus improve the accuracy of biomass estimates.