Fish and Benthic Survey of Hicks Island via Baited Underwater Video

Hicks Island survey recorded 170 individuals from 47 species of fishes, sharks, rays, and sea snakes using 8 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) in June 2002. Data includes habitat classification, species identity with CAABCODES, arrival time, behavior, maturity, and relative abundance metrics like MaxN. Approximately 3,500 reference images are stored from related BRUVS projects.

Use Cases

• Analyze species composition and relative abundance (MaxN) across the 47 observed fish, shark, ray, and sea snake species.
• Model the time elapsed before maximum abundance (MaxN) or feeding behavior occurs based on species identity and arrival time.
• Classify benthic habitat from imagery using topography, sediment, and benthos data recorded in the field of view.
• Study behavioral patterns across 8 defined categories, including feeding on bait, segmented by species and maturity (adult/juvenile).

Strengths

• Dataset documents 170 individual observations from a targeted survey.
• Covers 47 distinct species of marine fauna, providing biodiversity insight.
• Includes approximately 3,500 reference images from related BRUVS projects for validation.

Limitations

• Sample size is limited to 170 individuals from a single, short-duration survey in 2002.
• Data collection method (BRUVS) may introduce bait-attraction bias, skewing species presence and behavior records.
• Original data entry and analysis relied on a custom Microsoft Access interface, which may pose accessibility challenges.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS) deployed around Hicks Island.

Time Range

2002-06-23 to 2002-06-28

Freshness

Data is from a specific survey in June 2002; metadata was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Hicks Island, Australia