Institute for Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2010 Feb 19;5(2):e9324. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0009324.
Group behaviours are widespread among fish but comparatively little is known about the interactions between free-ranging individuals and how these might change across different spatio-temporal scales. This is largely due to the difficulty of observing wild fish groups directly underwater over long enough time periods to quantify group structure and individual associations. Here we describe the use of a novel technology, an animal-borne acoustic proximity receiver that records close-spatial associations between free-ranging fish by detection of acoustic signals emitted from transmitters on other individuals. Validation trials, held within enclosures in the natural environment, on juvenile lemon sharks Negaprion brevirostris fitted with external receivers and transmitters, showed receivers logged interactions between individuals regularly when sharks were within 4 m ( approximately 4 body lengths) of each other, but rarely when at 10 m distance. A field trial lasting 17 days with 5 juvenile lemon sharks implanted with proximity receivers showed one receiver successfully recorded association data, demonstrating this shark associated with 9 other juvenile lemon sharks on 128 occasions. This study describes the use of acoustic underwater proximity receivers to quantify interactions among wild sharks, setting the scene for new advances in understanding the social behaviours of marine animals.
鱼类的群体行为十分普遍，但对于自由游动个体之间的相互作用以及这些相互作用如何随不同时空尺度而变化，我们知之甚少。这在很大程度上是因为难以在水下直接长时间观察野生鱼群，从而无法量化群体结构和个体之间的联系。在这里，我们描述了一种新的技术的应用，即动物携带的声学近距离接收器，它通过检测其他个体发出的发射器发出的声信号来记录自由游动鱼类之间的近距离空间联系。在自然环境中的围栏内进行的验证试验中，给配备了外部接收器和发射器的幼年柠檬鲨（Negaprion brevirostris）进行试验，结果表明，当鲨鱼彼此之间的距离在 4 米（大约 4 个体长）内时，接收器会定期记录个体之间的相互作用，但当距离为 10 米时，接收器很少记录到相互作用。一项为期 17 天、涉及 5 条植入近距离接收器的幼年柠檬鲨的野外试验表明，一个接收器成功地记录了关联数据，证明这条鲨鱼与其他 9 条幼年柠檬鲨有 128 次关联。本研究描述了使用水下声学近距离接收器来量化野生鲨鱼之间的相互作用，为了解海洋动物的社交行为开辟了新的途径。
