The POST Collection

The Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) Program seeks to advance understanding of the movement and behavior of marine animals through the use of a large-scale acoustic telemetry and data management system. The telemetry system is composed of highly efficient lines of acoustic receivers that compartmentalize sections of the continental shelf along most of the Pacific coast of North America. Documenting movement patterns across the receiver array allows researchers to track animals, estimate parameters such as swimming speed and mortality, and correlate routes to environmental conditions encountered along the way. The data provide insight into how animals make use of the dynamic ecosystems they transit.

The POST system works seamlessly through fresh- and saltwater, ideal for the study of diadromous species such as salmon and sturgeon. However, the application of POST is only limited by the imagination and needs of scientists. Information on the movements of a wide variety of marine species—including squid, sharks, rockfish and lingcod—have been revealed using the POST array. As the technology becomes smaller and more advanced, we will benefit from an even greater knowledge of where marine animals travel.

This collection of papers provides a sample of the diversity of studies that can be conducted when an existing technological infrastructure such as POST is available and easily accessible to researchers. The results obtained reflect the power of an array that provides a scope far greater than that available to a single individual or research group. Where POST was inspired by and contributed to the ambitious Census of Marine Life effort, we hope this collection will stimulate innovative uses of POST and ultimately improve the conservation and stewardship of marine resources in every ocean.

Articles are presented in order of publication date and new POST-related articles will be added to the collection as they are published.

Image Credit: POST

Collection Citation: The POST Collection (2010) PLoS Collections: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/issue.pcol.v01.i05

 

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