BRUVS (TM) - Fish and Benthic survey of Southern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Seabed Project Cruise 4 2004-09-07 to 2004-10-10

The dataset comprises 13558 individuals from 169 species of fishes, sharks, rays and sea snakes observed at around Southern Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Seabed Project Cruise 4 using 229 baited remote underwater video stations (BRUVS(TM)). 1879 images were captured from these cameras.

Approximately 3500 of the best images from all BRUVS (TM) projects are stored in a reference library.

Data recorded concern:

• classification of the habitat in the field of view (topography, sediments, benthos)
• the identity of fish and CAABCODES
• their time of arrival
• their behaviour (8 categories, including feeding on the bait)
• their maturity (adult or juvenile)
• their relative abundance (as MaxN = the maximum number visible at one time, or distinguishable at different times as separate individuals e.g. much larger/smaller, male/female)
• the time elapsed before MaxN and feeding occurs.

A custom interface has been developed by AIMS staff, using Microsoft Access, for reading and analysis of BRUVS(TM) tapes.