377
movement time was detected in 2012, from Ilha do Meio (DEC, 20th) to Caverna
da Sapata (DEC 24th), comprising no more than 4 days to perform the ~11 km that
separate both areas.
Our future efforts focus on gathering as much as possible of photographic material from diving operators, enthusiast underwater photographers and photo companies, as well as, pre-digital pictures from underwater photographers in order to
better refine data on Goliath Grouper movements at this offshore Brazilian
Archipelago. Besides that, efforts have shown promising results for tagging smaller
Goliath Grouper in estuaries. Since some conventional marks are lost between
recaptures, the photo-Id provides a trustful tool in order to prevent the lost of data.
14.3.3 Telemetry and Acoustics
Telemetry is an established method used to track the movements, habitat use, and
survival of animals using active tracking or stationary receiver in aquatically environments such lakes, rivers, estuaries, and marine waters (Voegeli et al. 2001).
Telemetry studies had been applied to monitor migration dynamics, survival, habitat use and ecology of tagged animals (Goulette et al. 2014). Since the 1990s, tracking of mobile fauna was restricted to manual monitoring via vessel-based hydrophone
surveys. Tagged animals could be monitored for some period of time after implantation, and potentially located and followed again (Welch et al. 2003). With the development of the technology, it is available to researchers to use autonomous hydrophones
allowing continuous in situ monitoring, which permits the study of migration routes,
key habitats using presence, and absence of detections during logger periods of time
(Welch et al. 2003). In Brazil, the acoustic telemetry in marine fish started in latter
1990s–2000s, primary being applies to sharks and rays. Nowadays, the use of this
technology is growing, and being used in more groups of fish. This technology can
be very useful to generate data of endangered species, bring a large possibility to
collect many types of important data in a long-term monitoring.
Pioneer studies involving telemetry of the Goliath Grouper took place in Florida,
with most of the work performed by the Coleman & Koenig Lab at the Florida State
University (Ellis et al. 2013), which brought new findings about the behavior of the
Goliath Grouper. The referred study demonstrates the importance of the collaborative partnership network, such as the one used to collect information, with the
Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry (FACT). This initiative is a collaborative partnership of 24 different organizations using passive acoustic telemetry to document site
fidelity, habitat preferences, seasonal migration patterns, and reproductive strategies
of valuable sportfish, sharks, and marine turtles over all East cost of Florida, South
Georgia, and the Bahamas. Ellis et al. (2013) bring up results about the distance
travelled by the Goliath Grouper to get to spawning aggregations, reconsidering the
idea that the Goliath Grouper was a very slow moving and sedentary fish.
In Brazil, the first efforts to study Goliath Grouper behavior using acoustic
telemetry were done in 2013, by the Projeto Meros do Brazil (Project Atlantic
14 The Atlantic Goliath Grouper: Conservation Strategies for a Critically Endangered…
movement time was detected in 2012, from Ilha do Meio (DEC, 20th) to Caverna
da Sapata (DEC 24th), comprising no more than 4 days to perform the ~11 km that
separate both areas.
Our future efforts focus on gathering as much as possible of photographic material from diving operators, enthusiast underwater photographers and photo companies, as well as, pre-digital pictures from underwater photographers in order to
better refine data on Goliath Grouper movements at this offshore Brazilian
Archipelago. Besides that, efforts have shown promising results for tagging smaller
Goliath Grouper in estuaries. Since some conventional marks are lost between
recaptures, the photo-Id provides a trustful tool in order to prevent the lost of data.
14.3.3 Telemetry and Acoustics
Telemetry is an established method used to track the movements, habitat use, and
survival of animals using active tracking or stationary receiver in aquatically environments such lakes, rivers, estuaries, and marine waters (Voegeli et al. 2001).
Telemetry studies had been applied to monitor migration dynamics, survival, habitat use and ecology of tagged animals (Goulette et al. 2014). Since the 1990s, tracking of mobile fauna was restricted to manual monitoring via vessel-based hydrophone
surveys. Tagged animals could be monitored for some period of time after implantation, and potentially located and followed again (Welch et al. 2003). With the development of the technology, it is available to researchers to use autonomous hydrophones
allowing continuous in situ monitoring, which permits the study of migration routes,
key habitats using presence, and absence of detections during logger periods of time
(Welch et al. 2003). In Brazil, the acoustic telemetry in marine fish started in latter
1990s–2000s, primary being applies to sharks and rays. Nowadays, the use of this
technology is growing, and being used in more groups of fish. This technology can
be very useful to generate data of endangered species, bring a large possibility to
collect many types of important data in a long-term monitoring.
Pioneer studies involving telemetry of the Goliath Grouper took place in Florida,
with most of the work performed by the Coleman & Koenig Lab at the Florida State
University (Ellis et al. 2013), which brought new findings about the behavior of the
Goliath Grouper. The referred study demonstrates the importance of the collaborative partnership network, such as the one used to collect information, with the
Florida Atlantic Coast Telemetry (FACT). This initiative is a collaborative partnership of 24 different organizations using passive acoustic telemetry to document site
fidelity, habitat preferences, seasonal migration patterns, and reproductive strategies
of valuable sportfish, sharks, and marine turtles over all East cost of Florida, South
Georgia, and the Bahamas. Ellis et al. (2013) bring up results about the distance
travelled by the Goliath Grouper to get to spawning aggregations, reconsidering the
idea that the Goliath Grouper was a very slow moving and sedentary fish.
In Brazil, the first efforts to study Goliath Grouper behavior using acoustic
telemetry were done in 2013, by the Projeto Meros do Brazil (Project Atlantic
14 The Atlantic Goliath Grouper: Conservation Strategies for a Critically Endangered…