CmaxVideoAnalysis_2018_continuous_MW.xlsx

Towed cameras were programmed to record video data at 1080p resolution at 50 frames per second until either the memory or power were exhausted. Video recording was continuous in 2018, but a duty cycle of 30 seconds of recording every 5 minutes was used in 2019 to extend the recording duration. The 2018 continuous video data were therefore sub-sampled to 30-second video sequences every 5 minutes to match the duty cycling used in 2019. We also compared habitat use and behaviours revealed using the duty-cycled video with the continuous video data (collected in 2018), to understand what may have been missed in the duty-cycled data. All video data were observed in VLC Media Player (Version 3.0.8). Initial assessment of all data was undertaken by viewing each 30-second video file at twice the native speed to ascertain information on the following: (i) ambient lighting conditions (more than 50% of video data gathered in dark conditions, termed ‘blackout’, separated into day and night) and (ii) seabed presence and habitat type (whether seabed was visible in more than 50% of data and dominant habitat type). Seabed habitats were classified following the European Nature Information System (EUNIS; https://eunis.eea.europa.eu) habitat classification system, and also included surface and mid-water swimming where neither the seabed nor surface were visible. The frequency and extent of other behaviours, including feeding behaviour (when the shark’s mouths was open for more than 50% of the video duration, i.e. >15 seconds), presence of conspecifics and other species were recorded, and species were identified to the finest possible taxonomic level. Where necessary, video data were watched at native or slowed to half speed to ascertain behaviour changes or other events. To investigate the initial responses of basking sharks to tagging, Tail Beat Frequency (TBF) was calculated as the number of lateral undulatory movements visible in the video data. Using data collected in 2018, where video recording was continuous, TBF was estimated every minute (using 30 second of data), and every five minutes for the 2019 duty cycled data for the first 30 minutes following tagging. TBF was also estimated for each 30-second video sequence of surface feeding behaviour