Monitoring fish assemblages in estuary environments is often difficult to standardize due to habitat complexity and gear-specific selectivity. This is further compounded by conventional sampling methods which require fish handling that might cause stress or mortality. To ameliorate these issues, we developed the Single-Platform Aquatic Species and Habitat Sampling System (Platform), an integrated and mobile concentrator net and live box prototype, coupled with a range of physical monitoring equipment. We investigated the utility of the Platform over a short time period (two months) in a relatively small and complex embayment within the highly modified San Francisco Estuary, California. We were able to identify clear physical distinctions among estuary/delta habitat types and detect habitat segregation by ecological groups of sampled fishes with the Platform. The Platform also detected discernable ontogenetic shifts (i.e., size differences) within estuary habitats of commonly observed fish species. These initial results suggest the Platform can potentially fill a methodological gap in non-invasive surveying of small-bodied fish across a range of estuarine habitats, warranting further investigation of potential applications, including passive video monitoring.

中文翻译：

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一种标准化内陆鱼类社区调查的新方法：表征控制高度改造河口中小型鱼类物种、丰度和大小分布的栖息地特征

由于栖息地的复杂性和特定渔具的选择性，在河口环境中监测鱼类群落通常难以标准化。传统的取样方法进一步加剧了这种情况，这些方法需要处理可能导致压力或死亡的鱼类。为了改善这些问题，我们开发了单平台水生物种和栖息地采样系统（平台），这是一个集成的移动集中器网和活箱原型，以及一系列物理监测设备。我们在经过高度改造的加利福尼亚州旧金山河口内的一个相对较小且复杂的海湾中，在短时间内（两个月）调查了该平台的效用。我们能够通过平台识别出河口/三角洲栖息地类型之间的明显物理区别，并通过采样鱼类的生态群体检测栖息地隔离。该平台还检测到常见鱼类物种的河口栖息地内可辨别的个体遗传变化（即大小差异）。这些初步结果表明，该平台有可能填补对一系列河口栖息地的小型鱼类进行非侵入性调查的方法学空白，有必要对潜在应用进行进一步调查，包括被动视频监测。