Baited Remote Underwater Video Surveys (BRUVS): A research diary describing methodology in the Adriatic Sea
Presented by: Matthieu Bekaert
Introduction
What are BRUVS?!
Baited Remote Underwater Video Surveys (BRUVS), also often named Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations or Systems, is a commonly used non-destructive and non-extractive sampling technique that has developed in recent years for the assessment of mobile assemblages, suitable for research in protected areas and specifically fish communities (Whitmarsh, Fairweather and Huveneers, 2017).
For more information on BRUVS read on!!
BRUVS technology has developed since there is an increasing need to further the understanding of global processes, and the link between marine ecosystems and the important economic value of marine ecosystem services.
In comparison with other sampling techniques, this non-invasive method offers advantages of being able to sample a large percentage of a community, simultaneously count multiple taxa and provide behavioural data in a cost-effective and permanent way, with the possibility to view deployment videos again at a later date (Whitmarsh, Fairweather and Huveneers, 2017).
Although this project based out of the Polytechnic University of Marche in Ancona, Italy utilised Stereo-Benthic BRUVS, the methodology varies across the globe. Most setups have used a single camera with the advantage of being additionally cost-effective, the majority of research has been conducted in Oceania and the common habitat surveyed being rocky reef areas due to the high levels of associated biodiversity (Whitmarsh, Fairweather and Huveneers, 2017).