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Acoustic telemetry has emerged as a leading approach to infer diel, tidal and lunar rhythmicity in the movements of aquatic organisms in a range of taxa. Typically, studies examine the relative frequency of detections from individuals tagged with acoustic transmitters, and then infer patterns in the species’ behaviour, but studies to date have not controlled for factors that may influence tag detection patterns in the absence of animal behaviour. We compared patterns in acoustic detections from tagged cuttlefish Sepia apama and several fixed-location control tags, and used these data to highlight the danger of misinterpreting patterns in the absence of adequate controls. Cuttlefish and control tags displayed similar detection patterns, and correcting cuttlefish-detection data for the influence of environmental factors resulted in the opposite pattern of cuttlefish activity displayed prior to correction. This study highlights the danger of using acoustic data to infer animal behaviour in the absence of adequate controls.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Acoustic telemetry, Rhythmicity, Behaviour, Diel, Activity, Temporal
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Fisheries sciences
Research Field:	Fisheries management
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - wild caught
Objective Field:	Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna)
UTAS Author:	Semmens, JM (Professor Jayson Semmens)
ID Code:	66847
Year Published:	2010
Web of Science® Times Cited:	101
Deposited By:	TAFI - Marine Research Laboratory
Deposited On:	2011-02-15
Last Modified:	2011-03-22
Downloads:	336 View Download Statistics