Hi! My name is Fiona!
Hi! My name is Fiona!
Welcome to my Professional Practice experience 🐠
Welcome to my Professional Practice experience 🐠
Click here to get the real feeling:
Click here to get the real feeling:
Ocean Waves Crashing - Relaxing Sounds - Calming Relaxation Music For Sleeping - 1 Hour.mp3Have you ever wondered where your favorite fish spend most of their time?
Have you ever wondered where your favorite fish spend most of their time?
Or if a Marine Protected Area actually helps them survive better?
Or if a Marine Protected Area actually helps them survive better?
Let me introduce you to my four little friends:
Let me introduce you to my four little friends:
Polli
Polli
(aka Pollachius pollachius)
Diplo
Diplo
(aka Diplodus sargus)
Sim
Sim
(aka Symphodus melops)
Mulli
Mulli
(aka Mullus surmuletus)
Follow me to the place where everything began:
Follow me to the place where everything began:
Cíes Archipelago, Spain
Cíes Archipelago, Spain
The national park covers an area of ~32 km² and restricts commercial fishing activities with certain gear regulations, while recreational fishing is completely prohibited.
The national park covers an area of ~32 km² and restricts commercial fishing activities with certain gear regulations, while recreational fishing is completely prohibited.
Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli usually live around the Cíes Archipelago. This group of islands is located in Galicia, in the North West of Spain within the Galician Atlantic Islands Maritime-Terrestrial National Park, which was created in 2002.
Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli usually live around the Cíes Archipelago. This group of islands is located in Galicia, in the North West of Spain within the Galician Atlantic Islands Maritime-Terrestrial National Park, which was created in 2002.
Feel free to use the + and - buttons to get an idea of the location!
Feel free to use the + and - buttons to get an idea of the location!
If our four fish friends live in an area larger than the reserve itself, then they will be exposed to fishing pressure and the effectiveness of the reserve will be limited.
If our four fish friends live in an area larger than the reserve itself, then they will be exposed to fishing pressure and the effectiveness of the reserve will be limited.
That's why we want to know where exactly they spend most of their time
⇨ The project was born!
That's why we want to know where exactly they spend most of their time
⇨ The project was born!
We chose our study area
We chose our study area
to be located between Illa do Faro and Illa de San Martiño in the National Park of las Islas Cies. That is the area where we met my four little friends 🐠
to be located between Illa do Faro and Illa de San Martiño in the National Park of las Islas Cies. That is the area where we met my four little friends 🐠
But, unfortunately, they can't tell us where they like to spend most of their time. So we had to set up an array of acoustic receivers and tag our little friends with a special acoustic tag.
But, unfortunately, they can't tell us where they like to spend most of their time. So we had to set up an array of acoustic receivers and tag our little friends with a special acoustic tag.
...that's when acoustic telemetry comes into play!
...that's when acoustic telemetry comes into play!
How are the receivers deployed?
How are the receivers deployed?
Here you can watch my team set up the array of acoustic receivers:
Here you can watch my team set up the array of acoustic receivers:
Fast forward to 0:40min to see how the receivers are safely deployed into the sand.
Fast forward to 0:40min to see how the receivers are safely deployed into the sand.
Once that was done, we had to equip Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli with a special acoustic tag.
Once that was done, we had to equip Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli with a special acoustic tag.
The team went scuba diving to find our friends and brought them slowly to the surface. On the boat, the surgery was done and the tags were implanted into the peritoneal cavity. Don't worry, the process went really fast and was done really carefully so that they would not feel stressed or in pain.
The team went scuba diving to find our friends and brought them slowly to the surface. On the boat, the surgery was done and the tags were implanted into the peritoneal cavity. Don't worry, the process went really fast and was done really carefully so that they would not feel stressed or in pain.
Once that was done, we took a quick picture, measuring their size and giving each one a unique code
Once that was done, we took a quick picture, measuring their size and giving each one a unique code
Then we released them back into their habitat!
Then we released them back into their habitat!
All we could do now was sitting, waiting, and wishing that our four little friends would swim around the area of the acoustic array.
All we could do now was sitting, waiting, and wishing that our four little friends would swim around the area of the acoustic array.
telemetry.m4vDo you want to know how the data collection with acoustic telemetry works?
Do you want to know how the data collection with acoustic telemetry works?
The receivers collected time and date information each time one of our friends swam past. So after two and a half months, we had a big database with all the recordings of our tagged fish. The information saved within the receivers was recovered;
That's where my job began:
(swipe to the right to see what the analysis was mostly about)
The receivers collected time and date information each time one of our friends swam past. So after two and a half months, we had a big database with all the recordings of our tagged fish. The information saved within the receivers was recovered;
That's where my job began:
(swipe to the right to see what the analysis was mostly about)
For the majority of my Professional Practice experience, it was on me to analyze the collected data and describe fundamental movement patterns of Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli.
For the majority of my Professional Practice experience, it was on me to analyze the collected data and describe fundamental movement patterns of Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli.
Here are some of the results:
Here are some of the results:
We estimated the size of individual home ranges, which can be explained as the area where Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli spent most of their time.
We estimated the size of individual home ranges, which can be explained as the area where Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli spent most of their time.
The darker the color, the more time they spent there.
The darker the color, the more time they spent there.
Fascinating how precise the results are, right?
Fascinating how precise the results are, right?
My first scientific paper
My first scientific paper
I am creating a draft paper and we have the intention to publish the results as short communication in a peer-review scientific journal!
I am creating a draft paper and we have the intention to publish the results as short communication in a peer-review scientific journal!
With this output, I aim to contribute to filling a knowledge gap with regards to our four fish friends and their spatial ecology traits. It is aimed to describe fundamental movement data, that will help identify future behavioral investigations of Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli.
With this output, I aim to contribute to filling a knowledge gap with regards to our four fish friends and their spatial ecology traits. It is aimed to describe fundamental movement data, that will help identify future behavioral investigations of Polli, Diplo, Sim, and Mulli.
Here you can find some information about the IIM in Vigo, Spain.
Here you can find some information about the IIM in Vigo, Spain.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Alexandre Alonso Fernández and the Fisheries Ecology research group of the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas in Vigo. Thank you for all the support and for including me into your team 🐠
Special thanks to Alexandre Alonso Fernández and the Fisheries Ecology research group of the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas in Vigo. Thank you for all the support and for including me into your team 🐠
