A new approach to assessing the space use behaviour of macroinvertebrates by automated video tracking
Individual space and resource use are central issues in ecology and conservation. Recent technological advances such as automated tracking techniques are boosting ecological research in this field. However, the development of a robust method to track space and resource use is still challenging for at least one important ecosystem component: motile aquatic macroinvertebrates. The challenges are mostly related to the small body size and rapid movement of many macroinvertebrate species and to light scattering and wave signal interference in aquatic habitats. 2. We developed a video tracking method designed to reliably assess space use behaviour among individual aquatic macroinvertebrates under laboratory (microcosm) conditions. The approach involves the use of experimental apparatus integrating a near infrared backlight source, a Plexiglas multi-patch maze, multiple infrared cameras and automated video analysis. It allows detection of the position of fast-moving (~ 3 cm s-1) and translucent individuals of small size (~ 5 mm in length, ~1 mg in dry weight) on simulated resource patches distributed over an experimental microcosm (0.08 m2). 3. To illustrate the adequacy of the proposed method, we present a case study regarding the size dependency of space use behaviour in the model organism Gammarus insensibilis, focusing on individual patch selection, giving-up times and cumulative space used. 4. In the case study, primary data were collected on individual body size and individual locomotory behaviour, e.g. mean speed, acceleration and step length. Individual entrance and departure times were recorded for each simulated resource patch in the experimental maze. Individual giving-up times were found to be characterised by negative size dependency, with patch departure occurring sooner in larger individuals than smaller ones, and individual cumulative space used (treated as the overall surface area of resource patches that individuals visited) was found to scale positively with body size. 5. This approach to studying space use behaviour can deepen our understanding of species coexistence, yielding insights into mechanistic models on larger spatial scales, e.g. home range, with implications for ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as for the management and conservation of populations and ecosystems. Despite being specifically developed for aquatic macroinvertebrates, this method can also be applied to other small aquatic organisms such as juvenile fish and amphibians.
Default
Identification
- Alternate Identifier
- urn:lsid:knb.ecoinformatics.org:autogen:2020111604110772701
- Publication Date
- Title
- A new approach to assessing the space use behaviour of macroinvertebrates by automated video tracking
- Abstract
- Individual space and resource use are central issues in ecology and conservation. Recent technological advances such as automated tracking techniques are boosting ecological research in this field. However, the development of a robust method to track space and resource use is still challenging for at least one important ecosystem component: motile aquatic macroinvertebrates. The challenges are mostly related to the small body size and rapid movement of many macroinvertebrate species and to light scattering and wave signal interference in aquatic habitats. 2. We developed a video tracking method designed to reliably assess space use behaviour among individual aquatic macroinvertebrates under laboratory (microcosm) conditions. The approach involves the use of experimental apparatus integrating a near infrared backlight source, a Plexiglas multi-patch maze, multiple infrared cameras and automated video analysis. It allows detection of the position of fast-moving (~ 3 cm s-1) and translucent individuals of small size (~ 5 mm in length, ~1 mg in dry weight) on simulated resource patches distributed over an experimental microcosm (0.08 m2). 3. To illustrate the adequacy of the proposed method, we present a case study regarding the size dependency of space use behaviour in the model organism Gammarus insensibilis, focusing on individual patch selection, giving-up times and cumulative space used. 4. In the case study, primary data were collected on individual body size and individual locomotory behaviour, e.g. mean speed, acceleration and step length. Individual entrance and departure times were recorded for each simulated resource patch in the experimental maze. Individual giving-up times were found to be characterised by negative size dependency, with patch departure occurring sooner in larger individuals than smaller ones, and individual cumulative space used (treated as the overall surface area of resource patches that individuals visited) was found to scale positively with body size. 5. This approach to studying space use behaviour can deepen our understanding of species coexistence, yielding insights into mechanistic models on larger spatial scales, e.g. home range, with implications for ecological and evolutionary processes, as well as for the management and conservation of populations and ecosystems. Despite being specifically developed for aquatic macroinvertebrates, this method can also be applied to other small aquatic organisms such as juvenile fish and amphibians.
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Creator
- Dataset Contact
- Keywords (None )
-
- body size
- giving-up time
- macroinvertebrates
- space use
- foraging behavior
Geographic Coverage
- Geographic Description
- Laboratory experiment at the University of Salento (Lecce-taly)
Bounding Box
- West Bounding Coordinate
- 18.1750
- East Bounding Coordinate
- 18.1750
- North Bounding Coordinate
- 40.3515
- South Bounding Coordinate
- 40.3515
Temporal Coverage
Range of Dates
- Begin Date
-
2019-09-01
- End Date
-
2019-11-27
License Information
- Intellectual Rights
- This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
Distribution
Online
- A brief description of the the content of online URL.
- Info and download page on the LifeWatch Italy Data Portal
Online
- A brief description of the the content of online URL.
- DOI
Online
- A brief description of the the content of online URL.
- OSF
Data Tables
Data Tables
• Data Table
- Name
- Foraging_Behavior_RawData_Macroinvertebrate_Lab_Experiment
Physicaldocument
Data Format
Externally Defined Format
- Format Name
- application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.spreadsheetml.sheet
Attribute List
Attribute
- Name
- Temperature
- Label
- Definition
- The temperature condition of the experiment.
Attribute
- Name
- Individual
- Label
- Definition
- The ID of each individuals used in the experiment.
Attribute
- Name
- BL
- Label
- Body Length
- Definition
- The distance from the most anterior part of the head (rostrum or the posterior margin of the orbit) to the end of carapace.
Attribute
- Name
- BW
- Label
- Body Weight
- Definition
- The body weight obtained after prolonged oven-drying to remove the water content (dry weight).
Attribute
- Name
- Resource
- Label
- Definition
- The resource conditions which were tested for every experiment.
Attribute
- Name
- Visit
- Label
- Definition
- The number of visits per patches that each individual visits during the experimental time.
Attribute
- Name
- TotVisit
- Label
- Definition
- The total number of visits that each individual visits during the experimental time.
Attribute
- Name
- PercentVisit
- Label
- Definition
- The number of visit per patch by each individual respect to the total number of visits during the experimental time; calculated based on visits/TotVisit.
Attribute
- Name
- TimeSpent
- Label
- Definition
- The time that each individual spent on each patch during the experimental time.
Attribute
- Name
- PercentTime
- Label
- Definition
- The ratio between the time spent per patch and the whole experimental time.
Attribute
- Name
- Duration
- Label
- Definition
- The duration of the experiment.
Attribute
- Name
- GUT
- Label
- Giving Up Time
- Definition
- The ratio between the TimeSpent per patch and the number of visit per patch.
Attribute
- Name
- Cumulative_space_used
- Label
- Cumulative Space Used
- Definition
- The overall surface area of resource patch (0.01) that individual visited, calculated as number of visit multiplied to the surface area of the resource patch.