Open AccessKeeping it classy: classification of live fish and ghost PIT tags detected with a mobile PIT tag interrogation system using an innovative analytical approach
Author(s) -
Jacob Stout,
Mary M. Conner,
Phaedra Budy,
Peter D. MacKin,
Mark C. McKinstry
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.09
H-Index - 153
eISSN - 1205-7533
pISSN - 0706-652X
DOI - 10.1139/cjfas-2019-0403
Subject(s) - fish <actinopterygii> , transponder (aeronautics) , habitat , endangered species , computer science , flood myth , video monitoring , random forest , word error rate , environmental science , fishery , remote sensing , hydrology (agriculture) , ecology , geography , geology , artificial intelligence , real time computing , meteorology , biology , archaeology , geotechnical engineering
The ability of passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag data to improve demographic parameter estimates has led to the rapid advancement of PIT tag systems. However, ghost tags create uncertainty about detected tag status (i.e., live fish or ghost tag) when using mobile interrogation systems. We developed a method to differentiate between live fish and ghost tags using a random forest classification model with a novel data input structure based on known fate PIT tag detections in the San Juan River (New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah, USA). We used our model to classify detected tags with an overall error rate of 6.8% (1.6% ghost tags error rate and 21.8% live fish error rate). The important variables for classification were related to distance moved and response to monsoonal flood flows; however, habitat variables did not appear to influence model accuracy. Our results and approach allow the use of mobile detection data with confidence and allow for greater accuracy in movement, distribution, and habitat use studies, potentially helping identify influential management actions that would improve our ability to conserve and recover endangered fish.