The Ocean Tracking Network: Advancing frontiers in aquatic science and management

Aquatic animals are integral to ocean and freshwater ecosystems and their resilience, are depended upon globally for food sustainability, and support coastal communities and Indigenous peoples. However, global aquatic environments are changing profoundly due to anthropogenic actions and environmental change. These changes are altering distributions, movements, and survival of aquatic animals in ways that are not well understood. The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global partnership that is filling this knowledge gap. OTN Canada, a pan-Canadian (and beyond) research network, was launched in 2010 with visionary funding by the Canadian government. In our introduction to this special issue, we briefly overview how this interdisciplinary network has used state-of-the-art technologies, infrastructure, electronic tags and sensors, and associated cutting-edge research and training programs to better understand changing marine and freshwater dynamics and their impact on ecosystems, resources, and animal ecology. These studies have provided unprecedented insights into animal ecology and resource management at a range of spatial and temporal scales and by interfacing animal movements with novel measures of environment, physiology, disease, genetics–genomics, and anthropogenic stressors.

[1]  S. Dugdale,et al.  Understanding summertime thermal refuge use by adult Atlantic salmon using remote sensing, river temperature monitoring, and acoustic telemetry , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[2]  Jeremy E. Broome,et al.  Characterizing snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) movements in the Sydney Bight (Nova Scotia, Canada): a collaborative approach using multiscale acoustic telemetry , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[3]  Steven J. Cooke,et al.  Envisioning the Future of Aquatic Animal Tracking: Technology, Science, and Application , 2017 .

[4]  J. Kocik,et al.  Aquatic animal telemetry: A panoramic window into the underwater world , 2015, Science.

[5]  S. Hinch,et al.  The Influence of Smolt Age on Freshwater and Early Marine Behavior and Survival of Migrating Juvenile Sockeye Salmon , 2019, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.

[6]  V. Nguyen,et al.  What is “usable” knowledge? Perceived barriers for integrating new knowledge into management of an iconic Canadian fishery , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[7]  Erin L. Rechisky,et al.  Transcriptome profiles relate to migration fate in hatchery steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) smolts , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[8]  W. Sauer,et al.  Comparing catch rate, conventional tagging, and acoustic telemetry data for understanding the migration patterns of coastal fishes , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[9]  C. Wakefield,et al.  Does a spatiotemporal closure to fishing Chrysophrys auratus (Sparidae) spawning aggregations also protect individuals during migration? , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[10]  A. Ford,et al.  Tracking the Conservation Promise of Movement Ecology , 2018, Front. Ecol. Evol..

[11]  Anders Nielsen,et al.  Fast fitting of non-Gaussian state-space models to animal movement data via Template Model Builder. , 2015, Ecology.

[12]  T. Clark,et al.  Quantifying survival of age-2 Chilko Lake sockeye salmon during the first 50 days of migration , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[13]  S. Cooke,et al.  A synthesis to understand responses to capture stressors among fish discarded from commercial fisheries and options for mitigating their severity , 2018, Fish and Fisheries.

[14]  Dusky sharks (Carcharhinus obscurus) undertake large-scale migrations between tropical and temperate ecosystems , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[15]  M. Castonguay,et al.  Direct observations of American eels migrating across the continental shelf to the Sargasso Sea , 2015, Nature Communications.

[16]  R. Filgueira,et al.  The effect of environmental conditions on Atlantic salmon smolts’ (Salmo salar) bioenergetic requirements and migration through an inland sea , 2018, Environmental Biology of Fishes.

[17]  S. Cooke,et al.  Burst Swimming in Areas of High Flow: Delayed Consequences of Anaerobiosis in Wild Adult Sockeye Salmon , 2014, Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

[18]  Satya N. Nandan,et al.  Oceans and the Law of the Sea , 2002 .

[19]  A. Fisk,et al.  Foraging ecology of ringed seals (Pusa hispida), beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and narwhals (Monodon monoceros) in the Canadian High Arctic determined by stomach content and stable isotope analysis , 2015 .

[20]  F. Whoriskey,et al.  Nutritional correlates of spatiotemporal variations in the marine habitat use of brown trout (Salmo trutta) veteran migrants , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[21]  Steven J. Cooke,et al.  Ocean Tracking Network Canada: A Network Approach to Addressing Critical Issues in Fisheries and Resource Management with Implications for Ocean Governance , 2011 .

[22]  S. Vagle,et al.  Movement types of an Arctic benthic fish, shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius), during open-water periods in response to biotic and abiotic factors , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[23]  A. Fisk,et al.  Biotelemetry informing management: case studies exploring successful integration of biotelemetry data into fisheries and habitat management , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[24]  A. Farrell,et al.  Themed Issue Article: Conservation Physiology of Animal Migrations A physiological comparison of three techniques for reviving sockeye salmon exposed to a severe capture stressor during upriver migration , 2015 .

[25]  Aaron T. Fisk,et al.  Transient movements of a deep-water flatfish in coastal waters: Implications of inshore-offshore connectivity for fisheries management , 2018 .

[26]  M. Castonguay,et al.  Large-scale migration patterns of silver American eels from the St. Lawrence River to the Gulf of St. Lawrence using acoustic telemetry , 2014 .

[27]  Kendall R. Jones,et al.  The Location and Protection Status of Earth’s Diminishing Marine Wilderness , 2018, Current Biology.

[28]  G. Raby,et al.  Mechanisms to explain purse seine bycatch mortality of coho salmon. , 2015, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[29]  M. Power,et al.  Overwinter thermal habitat use in lakes by anadromous Arctic char , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[30]  L. Bernatchez,et al.  Preference for nearshore and estuarine habitats in anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) from the Canadian high Arctic (Victoria Island, Nunavut) revealed by acoustic telemetry , 2016 .

[31]  R. Crawford,et al.  First documented large-scale horizontal movements of individual Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) , 2017 .

[32]  A. Farrell,et al.  Facing the River Gauntlet: Understanding the Effects of Fisheries Capture and Water Temperature on the Physiology of Coho Salmon , 2015, PloS one.

[33]  S. Hinch,et al.  Predator swamping reduces predation risk during nocturnal migration of juvenile salmon in a high-mortality landscape. , 2016, The Journal of animal ecology.

[34]  Ian D. Jonsen,et al.  Predator-borne acoustic transceivers and GPS tracking reveal spatiotemporal patterns of encounters with acoustically tagged fish in the open ocean , 2014 .

[35]  A. Teffer Impacts of cumulative thermal and fishery stressors and infection development on the health and survival of adult Pacific salmon during freshwater residence , 2018 .

[36]  P. Cowley,et al.  Fish on the move: connectivity of an estuary-dependent fishery species evaluated using a large-scale acoustic telemetry array , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[37]  T. Clark,et al.  Immune response genes and pathogen presence predict migration survival in wild salmon smolts , 2014, Molecular ecology.

[38]  D. Webber,et al.  Movements of a deep-water fish: establishing marine fisheries management boundaries in coastal Arctic waters. , 2017, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[39]  V. Nguyen,et al.  Embracing Disruptive New Science? Biotelemetry Meets Co‐Management in Canada's Fraser River , 2018 .

[40]  D. Webber,et al.  Close proximity detection interference with acoustic telemetry: the importance of considering tag power output in low ambient noise environments , 2015, Animal Biotelemetry.

[41]  N. Young,et al.  Perceptions and Actions of Commercial Fishers in Response to Conservation Measures in Canadian Pacific Salmon Fisheries , 2018, Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.

[42]  A. Farrell,et al.  Capture severity, infectious disease processes and sex influence post-release mortality of sockeye salmon bycatch , 2017, Conservation physiology.

[43]  Frederick G Whoriskey,et al.  Lessons Learned in Developing a Canadian Operational Glider Fleet , 2018 .

[44]  Andrew D. Taylor,et al.  Post-tagging behaviour and habitat use in shortnose sturgeon measured with high-frequency accelerometer and PSATs , 2016, Animal Biotelemetry.

[45]  F. Juanes,et al.  Infections, fisheries capture, temperature, and host responses: multistressor influences on survival and behaviour of adult Chinook salmon , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[46]  M. Castonguay,et al.  The migration of stocked, trapped and transported, and wild female American silver eels through the Gulf of St. Lawrence , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[47]  M. Litvak,et al.  Fine-scale movement of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) during aggregations in the lower Saint John River Basin, New Brunswick, Canada , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[48]  F. Juanes,et al.  Infectious disease, shifting climates, and opportunistic predators: cumulative factors potentially impacting wild salmon declines , 2014, Evolutionary applications.

[49]  M. Pinsky,et al.  Marine defaunation: Animal loss in the global ocean , 2015, Science.

[50]  Steven J. Cooke,et al.  Troubling issues at the frontier of animal tracking for conservation and management , 2017, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[51]  Jeremy E. Broome,et al.  Atlantic Sturgeon Spatial and Temporal Distribution in Minas Passage, Nova Scotia, Canada, a Region of Future Tidal Energy Extraction , 2016, PloS one.

[52]  Kim Whoriskey,et al.  A hidden Markov movement model for rapidly identifying behavioral states from animal tracks , 2016, Ecology and evolution.

[53]  Piscivorous fish exhibit temperature-influenced binge feeding during an annual prey pulse. , 2016, The Journal of animal ecology.

[54]  A. Fisk,et al.  Movement, depth and temperature preferences of an important bycatch species, Arctic skate Amblyraja hyperborea, in Cumberland Sound, Canadian Arctic , 2014 .

[55]  A. Farrell,et al.  Location-specific consequences of beach seine and gillnet capture on upriver-migrating sockeye salmon migration behavior and fate , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[56]  Nancy A. Nate,et al.  Acoustic telemetry observation systems: challenges encountered and overcome in the Laurentian Great Lakes , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[57]  C. Taggart,et al.  Scaling in Free-Swimming Fish and Implications for Measuring Size-at-Time in the Wild , 2015, PloS one.

[58]  Michael J. Fogarty,et al.  Marine Taxa Track Local Climate Velocities , 2013, Science.

[59]  R. Crawford,et al.  Distinct patterns of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) presence and absence in a shallow high Arctic embayment, revealed across open-water and ice-covered periods through acoustic telemetry , 2015, Polar Biology.

[60]  Mark A. Lewis,et al.  State-space models' dirty little secrets: Even simple linear Gaussian models can have parameter and state estimation problems , 2016 .

[61]  A. Farrell,et al.  Tracking wild sockeye salmon smolts to the ocean reveals distinct regions of nocturnal movement and high mortality. , 2016, Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America.

[62]  S. Vagle,et al.  Impact of vessel traffic on the home ranges and movement of shorthorn sculpin (Myoxocephalus scorpius) in the nearshore environment of the high Arctic , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[63]  S. Cooke,et al.  Experimental capture and handling of chum salmon reveal thresholds in injury, impairment, and physiology: Best practices to improve bycatch survival in a purse seine fishery , 2018, Fisheries Research.

[64]  A. Fisk,et al.  Depth and temperature preferences of the deepwater flatfish Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides in an Arctic marine ecosystem , 2012 .

[65]  S. A. Lewandoski,et al.  Evaluating Pacific cod migratory behavior and site fidelity in a fjord environment using acoustic telemetry , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[66]  R. Apostle,et al.  Tracking and Protecting Marine Species at Risk: Scientific Advances, Sea of Governance Challenges , 2013 .

[67]  Nathan Young,et al.  How do potential knowledge users evaluate new claims about a contested resource? Problems of power and politics in knowledge exchange and mobilization. , 2016, Journal of environmental management.

[68]  A. Farrell,et al.  Environmental conditions and physiological state influence estuarine movements of homing sockeye salmon , 2015 .

[69]  N. Furey Migration ecology of juvenile Pacific salmon smolts : the role of fish condition and behaviour across landscapes , 2016 .

[70]  K. Ohashi,et al.  Investigating the Effect of Oceanographic Conditions and Swimming Behaviours on the Movement of Particles in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Using an Individual-Based Numerical Model , 2016 .

[71]  M. Litvak,et al.  Seasonal distribution and movement of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) in the lower Saint John River Basin, New Brunswick, Canada , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[72]  K. McCann,et al.  Food Web Structure in Temporally-Forced Ecosystems. , 2015, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[73]  G. Raby,et al.  Population-specific mortality in coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) released from a purse seine fishery , 2018 .

[74]  I. Jonsen,et al.  A novel approach to quantifying the spatiotemporal behavior of instrumented grey seals used to sample the environment , 2015, Movement ecology.

[75]  L. Bernatchez,et al.  Genomics and telemetry suggest a role for migration harshness in determining overwintering habitat choice, but not gene flow, in anadromous Arctic Char , 2017, bioRxiv.

[76]  I. Jonsen,et al.  Animal-Borne Acoustic Transceivers Reveal Patterns of at-Sea Associations in an Upper-Trophic Level Predator , 2012, PloS one.

[77]  G. Raby,et al.  Influence of Postcapture Ventilation Assistance on Migration Success of Adult Sockeye Salmon following Capture and Release , 2015 .

[78]  Bernie J. McConnell,et al.  Transmitting species‐interaction data from animal‐borne transceivers through Service Argos using Bluetooth communication , 2014 .

[79]  M. Heupel,et al.  Diversity of behavioural patterns displayed by a summer feeding aggregation of Atlantic sturgeon in the intertidal region of Minas Basin, Bay of Fundy, Canada , 2014 .

[80]  M. Castonguay,et al.  Modeling the migration of the American eel in the Gulf of St. Lawrence , 2016 .

[81]  Kim Whoriskey,et al.  Current and emerging statistical techniques for aquatic telemetry data: A guide to analysing spatially discrete animal detections , 2019, Methods in Ecology and Evolution.

[82]  E. G. Martins,et al.  Effects of natal water concentration and temperature on the behaviour of up-river migrating sockeye salmon , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[83]  V. Nguyen,et al.  Mobilizing New Science into Management Practice: The Challenge of Biotelemetry for Fisheries Management, a Case Study of Canada's Fraser River , 2013 .

[84]  Mark A. Lewis,et al.  State-space models’ dirty little secrets: even simple linear Gaussian models can have estimation problems , 2015, Scientific Reports.

[85]  A. Farrell,et al.  Transcriptome patterns and blood physiology associated with homing success of sockeye salmon during their final stage of marine migration , 2018, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[86]  A. Fisk,et al.  Latitudinal variation in ecological opportunity and intraspecific competition indicates differences in niche variability and diet specialization of Arctic marine predators , 2016, Ecology and evolution.

[87]  V. Nguyen,et al.  Getting past the blame game: Convergence and divergence in perceived threats to salmon resources among anglers and indigenous fishers in Canada’s lower Fraser River , 2016, Ambio.

[88]  A. Fisk,et al.  The foraging ecology of Arctic cod (Boreogadus saida) during open water (July–August) in Allen Bay, Arctic Canada , 2013 .

[89]  N. Stenseth,et al.  What is blue growth? The semantics of “Sustainable Development” of marine environments , 2018 .

[90]  S. Cooke Biotelemetry and biologging in endangered species research and animal conservation: relevance to regional, national, and IUCN Red List threat assessments , 2008 .

[91]  Travis O. Brenden,et al.  Acoustic telemetry as a potential tool for mixed-stock analysis of fishery harvest: a feasibility study using Lake Erie walleye , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[92]  Franziska Broell,et al.  Accelerometer tags: detecting and identifying activities in fish and the effect of sampling frequency , 2013, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[93]  Steven J. Cooke,et al.  Optimizing marine spatial plans with animal tracking data , 2019, Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.

[94]  Ward Appeltans,et al.  Essential ocean variables for global sustained observations of biodiversity and ecosystem changes , 2018, Global change biology.

[95]  Vivitskaia J. D. Tulloch,et al.  Polar lessons learned: long‐term management based on shared threats in Arctic and Antarctic environments , 2015 .