Citation:

eth.12642

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Abstract:

Observer presence can bias behavioural studies of animals both in the wild and the laboratory. Despite existing evidence for significant observer effects across several taxa, little is known about the minimum periods of acclimation that should precede behavioural observations. To date, most studies either do not report any acclimation periods or include a nonspecific period without empirically quantifying its appropriateness. Here we conducted in situ behavioural observations of two species of demersal coral reef fishes using cameras and/or observers to examine the biases associated with either approach. For both treatments, we generated 25 min time series of a number of vigilance-associated behaviours (i.e., distance from shelter and mate, time out of shelter, swimming activity) and estimated the point of acclimation using changepoint analysis. In the camera trials, acclimation in both species appeared to occur between 2 and 7 min for different behaviours. When an observer was present, however, no apparent acclimation occurred until the observer left the area. Overall, our findings demonstrate that (1) behavioural studies of wild fishes conducted by an observer may be biased due to permanent observer effects, and (2) when using video equipment, a species- and behaviour-specific acclimation period should precede behavioural scoring.

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Median Latitude: -3.369467 * Median Longitude: -125.300800 * South-bound Latitude: -17.486400 * West-bound Longitude: -149.870300 * North-bound Latitude: 24.864400 * East-bound Longitude: -76.161800

License:

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-3.0)

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9 datasets

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Datasets listed in this publication series

Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Mean body length distance from shelter and mate across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when using video equipment. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876123
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Mean body length distance from shelter and mate across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when observers are present. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876124
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Mean body length distance from shelter and mate across 25min observations of Stegastes leucostictus when using video equipment. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876125
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for time out of shelter across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when using video equipment. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876126
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for time out of shelter across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when observers are present. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876127
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for time out of shelter across 25min observations of Stegastes leucostictus when using video equipmen. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876128
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for swimming activity across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when using video equipment. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876129
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for swimming activity across 25min observations of Amphiprion crysopterus when observers are present. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876130
Nanninga, G; Côté, I; Beldade, R et al. (2017): Behavioural scores for swimming activity across 25min observations of Stegastes leucostictus when using video equipment. https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.876131