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Seahorses ( Hippocampus spp.) as a case study for locating cryptic and data‐poor marine fishes for conservation
Author(s) -
Aylesworth L.,
Loh T.L.,
Rongrongmuang W.,
Vincent A. C. J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
animal conservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.111
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1469-1795
pISSN - 1367-9430
DOI - 10.1111/acv.12332
Subject(s) - biology , species complex , abundance (ecology) , ecology , sampling (signal processing) , relative species abundance , seahorse , marine species , fishery , computer science , biochemistry , filter (signal processing) , gene , computer vision , phylogenetic tree
When seeking to conserve data‐poor species, we need to decide how to allocate research effort, especially when threats are substantial and pressing. Our study provides guidance for sampling marine fishes that are particularly difficult to find – those species that are cryptic or rare and or where little information exists on local distribution (data‐poor). We used our experience searching for seahorses ( Hippocampus spp.) in Thailand to evaluate two search strategies for marine conservation: (1) determining relative abundance and (2) searching for presence/absence with detection probabilities. Our fieldwork indicated that using the presence/absence framework was more likely to lead to inferences that seahorses could be found in the site than when using the relative abundance framework. This realization would support a commonsense approach, where presence/absence with detection probabilities is centrally important to marine conservation planning for cryptic and or data‐poor marine species.