About This Project

Acoustic tags have been used in Bimini, the Bahamas to determine the habitat use of at risk shark species for several years; these tags emit sounds that are detected by acoustic receivers and then translated into individual shark detections. I will be determining what effect environmental factors have on Vemco acoustic receiver detection efficiency in Bimini. This will help reduce bias in current datasets and more accurately predict shark habitat use in future studies.

Ask the Scientists

What is the context of this research?

My research in Bimini will determine the effectiveness of Vemco acoustic receivers in detecting acoustic tags in their vicinity; this will ensure that data being collected for current and future studies at the Bimini sharklab is as accurate as possible. Current studies are using acoustic tags to determine the effects of provisioning on hammerhead shark movement, as well as the habitat use of juvenile lemon sharks in response to noise pollution, light pollution, and habitat degradation resulting from ongoing shoreline development.

I am inspired to work on this project because I believe that the root to all good science is accurate interpretation of collected data. For more information on ongoing shark research being completed at BBFSF please visit the BBFSF website.

What is the significance of this project?

Bimini has long been important habitat for shark species as it borders the gulf stream and works as a shallow refuge for many juvenile shark species including lemon sharks which have been shown to have natal philopatry to the area. As tourism increases in Bimini over time with the construction of new resorts and increased 'eco-tourism' centering around its shark population, it is important to learn of the habitat use of key species to attempt to protect their critical habitat from development and degradation. My research will help to provide context as to how accurately sharks are being detected by acoustic receivers and to better understand the true habitat use and movement of these sharks in future studies.

It will also inform other researchers on factors impacting detection range.

What are the goals of the project?

The goal of the project is to come up with concrete error margins and detection ranges of Vemco acoustic receivers in Bimini and to determine the true effect of environmental factors such as salinity, suspended particles and temperature have on their detection efficiency. I will be using a combination of placed acoustic transmitters and dynamic acoustic transmitters at 10 acoustic receivers around Bimini from the beginning of January to the end of March. At the end of this time frame, I will download the receivers' collected data and determine what proportion of known 'pings' from the transmitters were detected by receivers. I will then relate discrepancies between expected detections and actual detections to the environmental data collected over this time.