Data from: Performance assessment of two whole-lake acoustic positional telemetry systems - is reality mining of free-ranging aquatic animals technologically possible?

Acoustic positional telemetry systems (APTs) represent a novel approach to study the behaviour of free ranging aquatic animals in the wild at unprecedented detail. System manufactures promise remarkably high temporal and spatial resolution. However, the performance of APTs has rarely been rigorously tested at the level of entire ecosystems. Moreover, the effect of habitat structure on system performance has only been poorly documented. Two APTs were deployed to cover two small lakes and a series of standardized stationary tests were conducted to assess system performance. Furthermore, a number of tow tests were conducted to simulate moving fish. Based on these data, we quantified system performance in terms of data yield, accuracy and precision as a function of structural complexity in relation to vegetation. Mean data yield of the two systems was 40 % (Lake1) and 60 % (Lake2). Average system accuracy (acc) and precision (prec) were Lake1: acc = 3.1 m, prec = 1.1 m; Lake2: acc = 1.0 m, prec = 0.2 m. System performance was negatively affected by structural complexity, i.e., open water habitats yielded far better performance than structurally complex vegetated habitats. Post-processing greatly improved data quality, and sub-meter accuracy and precision were, on average, regularly achieved in Lake2 but remained the exception in the larger and structurally more complex Lake1. Moving transmitters were tracked well by both systems. Whereas overestimation of moved distance is inevitable for stationary transmitters due to accumulation of small tracking errors, moving transmitters can result in both over- and underestimation of distances depending on circumstances. Both deployed APTs were capable of providing high resolution positional data at the scale of entire lakes and are suitable systems to mine the reality of free ranging fish in their natural environment. This opens important opportunities to advance several fields of study such as movement ecology and animal social networks in the wild. It is recommended that thorough performance tests are conducted in any study utilizing APTs. The APTs tested here appear best suited for studies in structurally simple ecosystems or for studying pelagic species. In such situations, the data quality provided by the APTs is exceptionally high.声学位置遥测系统（Acoustic positional telemetry systems，以下简称APTs）是一种可在野外以空前精细的尺度研究自由活动水生动物行为的全新手段。该类系统的制造商宣称其可实现极高的时间与空间分辨率。然而，现有研究极少在完整生态系统尺度上对APTs的性能开展严格测试。此外，栖息地结构对系统性能的影响相关研究记录也极为匮乏。本研究部署了两套APTs以覆盖两座小型湖泊，并开展了一系列标准化静态测试以评估系统性能。此外，还开展了多组拖拽测试以模拟鱼类的移动状态。基于上述测试数据，本研究以数据产出率、定位准确度与精度为评价指标，量化了系统性能随植被相关结构复杂度的变化规律。两套系统的平均数据产出率分别为40%（湖泊1）与60%（湖泊2）。两套系统的平均定位准确度（acc）与精度（prec）分别为：湖泊1：acc=3.1米，prec=1.1米；湖泊2：acc=1.0米，prec=0.2米。系统性能会随结构复杂度升高而下降，即开阔水域栖息地的系统性能远优于结构复杂的植被覆盖栖息地。后处理步骤可显著提升数据质量：在湖泊2中，亚米级的定位准确度与精度平均可稳定实现，但在面积更大、结构更复杂的湖泊1中，该水平仅为偶发现象。两套APTs均可对携带移动发射标签的个体实现良好追踪。由于微小追踪误差的累积，静态发射标签的移动距离估算值必然存在高估现象；而移动发射标签的距离估算值则会根据实际场景出现高估或低估。本次部署的两套APTs均可在完整湖泊尺度上提供高分辨率定位数据，适用于揭示自然环境中自由活动鱼类的真实行为规律。这为推动运动生态学、野外动物社交网络等多个研究领域的发展提供了重要契机。建议在所有使用APTs的研究中，均开展全面的系统性能测试。本次测试的APTs最适用于结构简单的生态系统研究，或敞水性物种的相关研究。在此类场景下，该系统可提供极高质量的定位数据。