Opening the black box of fish tracking using acoustic telemetry

Abstract

The R package yaps was introduced in 2017 as a transparent open source alternative to closed source manufacturer-provided solutions to estimate positions of fish (and other aquatic animals) tagged with acoustic transmitters. Although yaps is open source and transparent, the process from raw detections to final tracks has proved to be challenging for many potential users, effectively preventing most users from accessing the benefits of using yaps. Especially, the very important process of synchronizing the hydrophone arrays have proven to be an obstacle for many potential users. To make yaps more approachable to the wider fish tracking community, we have developed and added user-friendly functions assisting users in the complex process of synchronizing the data. Here, we introduce these functions and a six-step protocol intended to provide users with an example workflow that can be used as a template enabling users to apply yaps to their own data. Using example data collected by an array of Vemco VR2 hydrophones, the protocol walks the user through the entire process from raw data to final tracks. Example data sets and complete code for reproducing results are provided.