Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38226528›Full record

ArticleJournal of fish biology2025

The use of predator tags to explain reversal movement patterns in Atlantic salmon smolts (Salmo salar L.).

C Waters, D Cotter, R O'Neill, A Drumm, J Cooney, N Bond, G Rogan, N Ó' Maoiléidigh

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of fish biology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
2.1field-weighted citation impact, top 16% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Methods to estimate marine functional connectivity: A primer.Ecological applications : a publication of the Ecological Society of America · 2026
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

C WatersMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0981-4135
D CotterMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
R O'NeillMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
A DrummMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
J CooneyMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
N BondMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
G RoganMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
N Ó' MaoiléidighMarine Institute, Furnace, Newport, Co Mayo, Ireland.
Marine Institute · IE

Funding

Interreg IVA5060
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Acoustic telemetry has seen a rapid increase in utility and sophistication in recent years and is now used extensively to assess the behavior and survival rates of many aquatic animals, including the Atlantic salmon. As part of the salmon's complex life cycle, salmon smolts are thought to make a unidirectional migration from fresh water to the sea, which is initiated by changes in their physiology. However, some tag movement patterns do not conform with this and can be difficult to explain, particularly if the tagged fish has been eaten by a predator. This study combines the use of predator tags with machine learning techniques to understand the fate of migrating salmon smolts and thereby improve estimates for migration success. Over 3 years between 2020 and 2022, 217 salmon smolts (including wild and hatchery-reared ranched fish) were acoustically tagged and released into an embayment on the west coast of Ireland. Some tagged smolts were observed to return from the estuary back into a saline lagoon through which they had already migrated. To distinguish between the movement of a salmon smolt and that of a predator, predator tags were deployed in migrating smolts in 2021 and 2022. The addition of a temperature sensor in 2022 enabled the determination of predator type causing the returning movement. A significant number of predator tags were triggered, and the patterns of movement associated with these triggered tags were then used with two types of machine learning algorithms (hierarchical cluster analysis and random forest) to identify and validate the behavior of smolts tagged without extra sensors. Both models produced the same outputs, grouping smolts tagged with predator tags with smolts tagged without the additional sensors but showing similar movements. A mammalian predator was identified as the cause of most reversal movement, and hatchery-reared ranched smolts were found to be more likely predated upon by this predator than wild smolts within the lake and the estuary. However, overall migration success estimates were similar for both wild and hatchery-reared ranched fish. This study highlights the value of predator tags as an essential tool in the overall validation of detection data.

Indexed as

Animal Identification SystemsAnimal MigrationSalmo salarTelemetryAnimalsMachine LearningPredatory Behavioracoustic telemetryAtlantic salmonmigrationpredationpredator tagsmolt

Identifiers

PMID38226528
PMCPMC12120339
OpenAlexW4390913379

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.