Lack of light colour effects when sampling fish at night in low visibility environments

J Fish Biol. 2019 Sep;95(3):952-955. doi: 10.1111/jfb.14058. Epub 2019 Jun 7.

Abstract

We compared night deployments of Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) in South Australia, illuminated by either red or blue light and found similar species compositions and abundances with both colours. We observed c. 1800 individuals from 52 species across 107 night-time deployments, with only one site out of six showing differences in assemblages between the two colours. With five out of six sites showing similarities between light colours our results differ from previous results and more generally suggest that the most suitable colour can differ among studies.

Keywords: BRUVS; baited video; fish communities; nocturnal; temperate.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Color
  • Darkness
  • Fishes / physiology*
  • Pigmentation
  • South Australia
  • Video Recording*