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Factors affecting the detection distances of reef fish: implications for visual counts

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Abstract

Detection patterns of coral reef fish were assessed from the meta-analysis of distance sampling surveys performed by visual census in New Caledonia and French Polynesia, from 1986 to 1999. From approximately 100,000 observations relating to 593 species, the frequency distributions of fish detection distances perpendicular to the transect line were compared according to species characteristics and sampling conditions. The shape and extension of these detection profiles varied markedly with fish size, shyness, and crypticity, indicating strong differences of detectability across species. Detection of very small and cryptic fish decreased strongly 1 m away from the line. Conversely, sightings of shy and large species were excessively low in the first meters due to diver avoidance prior to detection. The larger the fish, the greater the fleeing distance. Distance data underscore how inconsistent detectability biases across species and sites can affect the accuracy of visual censuses when assessing coral reef fish populations.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to M. Harmelin-Vivien and N.V.C. Polunin for constructive advice on this work. We also thank M.A. MacNeil, L. Yakob, A.R. Harborne, S. Bejarano Chavarro, and the anonymous reviewers for helpful comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Spatial Ecology Lab, School of BioSciences, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK

    Yves-Marie Bozec

  2. IRD, Université de Perpignan, 66860, Perpignan Cedex, France

    Michel Kulbicki

  3. UMR GRED, IRD/UPV-Montpellier 3, IRD, BP 64501, 34394, Montpellier Cedex 5, France

    Francis Laloë

  4. IRD, BP A5, 98848, Nouméa Cedex, New Caledonia, France

    Gérard Mou-Tham

  5. Université Européenne de Bretagne, UMR INRA/Agrocampus Ouest “Ecologie et Santé des Ecosystèmes”, CS 84215, 35042, Rennes Cedex, France

    Didier Gascuel

  6. School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia

    Yves-Marie Bozec

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  1. Yves-Marie Bozec
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  2. Michel Kulbicki
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Correspondence to Yves-Marie Bozec.

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Communicated by D. Goulet.

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Bozec, YM., Kulbicki, M., Laloë, F. et al. Factors affecting the detection distances of reef fish: implications for visual counts. Mar Biol 158, 969–981 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1623-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-011-1623-9

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