Preliminary study on measuring activity of the red-spotted grouper, Epinephelus akaara, using a novel acoustic acceleration transmitter

Abstract

It is difficult to directly observe the behavior of fish in the natural environment. Acoustic telemetry is a powerful tool used to clarify spatial movement patterns of several fish species in the natural habitats successfully over decades. Recently, a new type of transmitter installed with an accelerometer allows us to measure fish activities using acoustic telemetry. In this paper, we introduce preliminary results of the tank experiment using acoustic acceleration transmitters. We inserted an acoustic acceleration transmitter (AccelTag, Thelma Biotel, Trondheim, Norway) into the body cavities of red-spotted groupers (Epinephelus akaara) under anesthesia. During the tank experiment, we observed the fish activity simultaneously using a video camera. The result showed that the period during which the fish were active or inactive could be determined using the acceleration acoustic transmitters.