Validation of a hidden Markov model for the geolocation of Atlantic cod

• Main Authors: Liu, Chang, Cowles, Geoffrey W., Zemeckis, Douglas R., Cadrin, Steven X., Dean, Micah J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2016
• Subjects: atlantic cod
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/78476; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0376

Models developed to geolocate individual fish from data recorded by electronic tags often require significant modification to be applied to new regions, species, or tag types due to variability in oceanographic conditions, fish behavior, and data resolution. We developed a model for geolocating Atlantic cod off New England that builds upon an existing hidden Markov model (HMM) framework and addresses region- and species-specific challenges. The HMM framework contains a likelihood model which compares tag-recorded environmental data (depth, temperature, tidal characteristics) with those derived from an oceanographic model and a behavior model which constrains the horizontal movement of the fish. Validation experiments were performed on stationary tags, double-electronic-tagged fish (archival and acoustic tags), and simulated tracks. Known data, including fish locations and activity metrics, showed good agreement with those estimated by the modified approach, and improvements in performance of the modified method over the original. The modified geolocation approach will be applicable to additional species and regions to obtain valuable movement information that is not typically available for demersal fishes. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.