A novel use of Stereo Baited Remote Underwater Video and Drop-Down Video for biodiversity and marine landscape mapping and prediction

PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319355 April 3, 2025 15 / 23 PLOS ONE Marine landscape and biodiversity mapping using SBRUVs and DDV described in this study has the potential to provide valuable data for the informing and devel- opment required of any such design and implication. Previous studies have employed SBRUV systems to assess species richness across various marine ecosystems, focusing primarily on habitat associations defined by a predominant substratum type [15,18]. By employing this more comprehensive approach, the study not only enhances our understanding of species- habitat relationships but also allows for a more precise comparison with existing biodiversity and habitat maps. When the predicted areas of increased biodiversity are compared to the original predicted substratum features from NatureScot 2013 survey, there is an overlap in identified marine features such as seagrass that coincides with an area of increased biodiversity (Fig 14). There is also an area of increased biodiversity that does not overlap with a protected feature. Predic- tions of the size and extent of the gravel beds (which also contained maerl both alive and dead), approximately corresponded with the map of the maerl or coarse gravel with bur- rowing sea cucumbers from the original proposition [51]. However, our results study found several distinct patches rather than a continuous extent of maerl gravel. Our results also cor- respond with predictions from another study in the Clyde examining distribution of benthic

sediment, with our predictions of sand, mud and gravel aligning with their results [79]. This new information will provide a more sensitive measure of change in this feature over time. The degree of impact that marine landscape composition has on species assemblages will depend on the species [80]. Although there may be increases in biodiversity in edge areas [81], Fig 11. Inverse Simpson’s diversity index for each fishing limitation area. Inverse Simpson’s diversity index for each type of fishing limitation within the MPA study area. Pair wise comparisons made between substrata regarding biodiversity indicate statistical significance difference between areas closed to dredging, trawling and creeling (DTDC), and areas closed to trawling and dredging (TND). Each datapoint is one SBRUV station. Blue crosses denote the median and bars indicted the mean, boxplot width denotes number of data points. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319355.g011