As opposed to passive, broad‐scale acoustic telemetry arrays, acoustic positioning systems generate high‐resolution animal locations that provide information on long‐term, fine‐scale movement patterns and habitat preferences. However, limited comparisons have been made between more common broad‐scale acoustic data and fine‐scale positioning data and it is unknown whether differences exist in ecological inferences gained or lost between using either array configuration over the other. Broad‐scale movement and habitat use information was collected for eight Yellowtail Snapper Ocyurus chrysurus tagged within an array of 78 stationary acoustic receivers deployed in Buck Island Reef National Monument, a marine protected area located northeast of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. An additional 25 receivers were nested within the larger array as a VEMCO Positioning System and were used to assess fine‐scale habitat use for five of the eight tagged fish. Broad‐scale results inferred from network analysis revealed that all individuals had core use receivers along the shallow shelf break situated west of Buck Island, preferring an area that was coarsely characterized by sand and seagrass benthic habitats. Fine‐scale results using Euclidean distance analysis (EDA) suggested fish positions occurred randomly or independent of benthic habitat type. Further exploration of positioning data suggested that there were two contingents or groups of fish displaying unique movement patterns within the fine‐scale positioning array. Individuality in space and habitat use was thus masked when using an EDA approach at the study population level, as it was also missed during broad‐scale analyses. Discrepancies between broad‐ and fine‐scale habitat inferences suggest that positioning systems are necessary for interpreting habitat use in complex coral reef ecosystems. Nested positioning systems appear to add substantial information that is not obtainable using broad‐scale data alone, and caution is necessary in inferring habitat use when only coarse‐scale location data are available.

中文翻译：

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生物遥测数据的规模影响Yellow尾鲷的空间和栖息地使用的生态学解释

与无源，大规模声遥测阵列相反，声定位系统生成高分辨率的动物位置，从而提供有关长期，小尺度运动模式和栖息地偏好的信息。但是，在更常见的宽尺度声波数据和精细尺度定位数据之间进行的比较有限，并且未知使用两种阵列配置与另一种阵列配置之间获得或丢失的生态推断是否存在差异。收集了八头Yellow鱼Ocyurus chrysurus的大规模迁徙和栖息地使用信息在部署在美属维尔京群岛圣克鲁斯东北部的海洋保护区巴克岛礁国家纪念碑中的78个固定式声波接收器阵列中进行标记。另外有25个接收器作为VEMCO定位系统嵌套在较大的阵列中，用于评估八种带标签鱼中五种的精细栖息地使用情况。从网络分析中得出的广泛结果表明，在巴克岛以西的浅层架空断裂带，每个人都有核心用途接收者，他们偏爱沙和海草底栖生境的粗略特征。使用欧氏距离分析（EDA）的精细结果表明，鱼类位置随机发生或与底栖生境类型无关。对定位数据的进一步研究表明，在精细定位阵列中，有两个鱼群或鱼类显示出独特的运动模式。因此，在研究人群水平上使用EDA方法掩盖了空间和栖息地使用方面的个性，因为在大规模分析中也没有考虑到这种个性。大规模和精细栖息地推断之间的差异表明，定位系统对于解释复杂的珊瑚礁生态系统中的栖息地用途是必要的。嵌套的定位系统似乎增加了仅靠大范围数据无法获得的大量信息，并且当仅提供粗略位置数据时，在推断栖息地使用时必须格外小心。因此，在研究人群水平上使用EDA方法掩盖了空间和栖息地使用方面的个性，因为在大规模分析中也没有考虑到这种个性。广泛的和精细的栖息地推断之间的差异表明，定位系统对于解释复杂的珊瑚礁生态系统中的栖息地用途是必要的。嵌套的定位系统似乎增加了仅靠大范围数据无法获得的大量信息，并且当仅提供粗略位置数据时，在推断栖息地使用时必须格外小心。因此，在研究人群水平上使用EDA方法掩盖了空间和栖息地使用方面的个性，因为在大规模分析中也没有考虑到这种个性。大规模和精细栖息地推断之间的差异表明，定位系统对于解释复杂的珊瑚礁生态系统中的栖息地用途是必要的。嵌套的定位系统似乎增加了仅靠大范围数据无法获得的大量信息，并且当仅提供粗略位置数据时，在推断栖息地使用时必须格外小心。