Developing methods for assessing abundance and distribution of European oysters (Ostrea edulis) using towed video.

ABSTRACT: Due to large-scale habitat losses and increasing pressures, benthic habitats in general, and perhaps oyster beds in particular, are commonly in decline and severely threatened on regional and global scales. Appropriate and cost-efficient methods for mapping and monitoring of the distribution, abundance and quality of remaining oyster populations are fundamental for sustainable management and conservation of these habitats and their associated values. Towed video has emerged as a promising method for surveying benthic communities in a both non-destructive and cost-efficient way. Here we examine its use as a tool for quantification and monitoring of oyster populations by (i) analysing how well abundances can be estimated and how living Ostrea edulis individuals can be distinguished from dead

SUBMITTER: Thorngren L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5687756 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature