Monitoring mosaic biotopes in a marine conservation zone by autonomous underwater vehicle.

ABSTRACT: The number of marine protected areas (MPAs) has increased dramatically in the last decade and poses a major logistic challenge for conservation practitioners in terms of spatial extent and the multiplicity of habitats and biotopes that now require assessment. Photographic assessment by autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) enables the consistent description of multiple habitats, in our case including mosaics of rock and sediment. As a case study, we used this method to survey the Greater Haig Fras marine conservation zone (Celtic Sea, northeast Atlantic). We distinguished 7 biotopes, detected statistically significant variations in standing stocks, species density, species diversity, and faunal composition, and identified significant indicator species for each habitat. Our results demonstrat

SUBMITTER: Benoist NMA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6850053 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature