In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS) - Development and Testing of Operational System

University Of Miami, Coral Gables FL

Investigators

Abstract

In the last decade new approaches using in situ video have demonstrated that new and affordable technology would allow biologists to quickly assess zooplankton vertical and horizontal distributions and abundance. These techniques would speed up the process between sample collection and analysis. A digital imaging system would allow scientists to record digitally onto a computer which could process the data in real-time via image-recognition software. Moreover, in situ imaging would enable very high resolution sampling, and, therefore, mapping of the horizontal and vertical distribution of zooplankters as well as provide in situ realizations of their natural behaviors. To date imaging systems have been limited in the volume of water being sampled, thereby restricting their utility to quantifying highly abundant, small zooplankton like copepods, but not relatively rarer, but larger ichthyo- and other meso-zooplankton. With the advances in line-scan digital imaging and data storage technologies, a high-resolution imaging system can be assembled for use on small towed, undulating vehicles. Combined with shadow illumination techniques, relatively large volumes of water can be imaged at very high resolution. With NSF SGER funding, the PIs built a prototype camera system and towed vehicle. This combined system was successfully field tested, demonstrating not only that the camera system works, but also that it is capable of quantifying larval fish even in the relatively depauperate core waters of the Florida Current in the Straits of Florida. With this prototype completed, their goal is to build an operational system with expanded imaging and environmental sensing capabilities and to provide the field-testing required to pass scientific scrutiny. Further, as the system becomes operational, the need for automated image analysis must be addressed. Finally, both the field sampling capabilities and the image analysis algorithms will need to be carefully tested to quantitatively assess the accuracy of ISIIS. Broader Impacts: The panel felt that this technology offered an exceptionally valuable tool for building a stronger bridge between fishery biology and oceanography and will offer a sampling intensity that can overcome the constraints of conventional method. The broader impacts of this work also included the training of two graduate students, one in oceanography and the other in engineering or computer technology. The images the instrument can collect could be useful in teaching.