ABSTRACT: Representative indices of population abundance for at-risk species are necessary to inform conservation decision-making. Many madtoms (Noturus spp.) are considered imperiled; however, the efficacy of frequent monitoring efforts has been questioned due to their cryptic and nocturnal behaviors. We systematically evaluated a madtom monitoring tool by (1) evaluating the use of small (8 × 2 mm), surgically implanted 125 kHz passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags for frecklebelly madtom N. munitus and (2) assessing the effectiveness of a radio-frequency identification (RFID)-enhanced artificial cover unit to index madtom abundance. Surgically implanted PIT tags had no apparent influence on madtom survival between 45 and 110 mm total length, and all tags were retained throughout a 21 d laboratory study. In experimental mesocosms, the enhanced cover units confirmed occupancy during nearly all replicates (77.6%), even at extremely low densities (n = 2 madtoms). The enhanced cover units provided representative estimates of madtom relative abundance (p < 0.01), whereas catch per unit effort was not significantly associated with previously validated visual observations (p = 0.12). Although madtom density and the number detected using the enhanced cover units were correlated, the gear was potentially saturated at relatively high densities (~20 fish per mesocosm) when deploying a single unit. In most cases, occupancy was confirmed within 12 h, and nearly half of the individuals were detected within ~72 h. Small PIT tags and RFID-enhanced artificial cover units offer novel opportunities to efficiently describe the ecology and population dynamics of madtoms.

中文翻译：

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无源集成应答器标签的适用性和针对高风险madtom的新监视技术（Noturus spp。）

摘要：高危物种的种群数量代表性指标对于保护决策至关重要。许多疯子（Noturus spp。）被认为是受威胁的；然而，由于其隐秘的和夜间的行为，经常监测工作的有效性受到质疑。我们系统地评估了madtom监视工具，方法是：（1）评估通过手术植入的小（8×2 mm）125 kHz无源集成应答器（PIT）标签来治疗雀斑madtom munitus。（2）评估增强射频识别（RFID）的人工覆盖物单元对疯狂数量进行索引的有效性。手术植入的PIT标签对总长度在45至110 mm之间的madtom存活率没有明显影响，并且在整个21天的实验室研究中，所有标签均得以保留。在实验性的中观世界中，即使在极低的密度（n = 2 madtoms）下，增强的覆盖单元也证实了几乎所有重复（77.6％）的占有率。增强的掩盖单位提供了madtom相对丰度的代表性估计值（p <0.01），而每单位工作量的捕获量与先前验证的视觉观察结果没有显着关联（p = 0.12）。尽管madtom密度与使用增强掩盖单元检测到的数量相关，部署单个单元时，齿轮可能会以较高的密度饱和（每个中观宇宙约20条鱼）。在大多数情况下，可在12小时内确认有人居住，并且在约72小时内发现了将近一半的人。小型PIT标签和增强RFID的人工覆盖装置为有效描述疯子的生态和种群动态提供了新的机会。