Publication Abstract

Reaching for the stars: a perspective from 15 years of archival fish tagging

Righton, D*. & Metcalfe, J.* Biologging conference keynote speech

Astronomers have to accept the fact that the information they collect on the behaviour and life-history of stars and planets is out of date by the time they receive it.  Biologging scientists have to live with the same problem, but are faced with the additional challenge that the data they collect often needs to be applied to environmental management and conservation issues on a short timescale. In this talk, we will review the successes of the last 25 years of fish biologging science at the Lowestoft fisheries laboratory, highlighting case studies on, amongst others, European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). We will describe how our studies on individual fish have provided the first evidence and characterisation of important and fundamental fish behaviours, and how our growing archive of data (currently standing at over 800 tag datasets, spanning 8 species and providing over 200,000 days of data) has been used to infer and refine our understanding of population level behaviours and ecology. Finally, we will discuss how the use of comparative biologging studies can help advance our understanding of the behaviour and ecology within and across species, and look forward to some of the challenges and freedoms that large archives of biologging data provide.