Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The Diversity journal is about to launch a Topic dedicated to Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation.

Technological advancements in recent years have led to development of techniques for data acquisition and analysis and their application to reef environments to facilitate reef research and conservation activities. The focus of this Topic of the interdisciplinary open access journal Diversity is the development and adaptation of such techniques to increase the efficiency of ecological research on subtidal reefs (e.g., rocky, coral or mesophotic reefs), including but not limited to the use of eDNA, remote sensing (ranging from satellite remote sensing to underwater photogrammetry), unmanned aerial vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and machine learning. As the impacts of climate change are expected to increase worldwide, these new techniques can play key roles in effective monitoring of marine ecosystems. We welcome submissions that are focused on a broad range of innovative approaches to enhance our understanding of reef environments.

Dr. Atsuko Fukunaga
Dr. John Burns
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Conservation conservation	-	-	2021	35.6 Days	CHF 1000	Submit
Diversity diversity	2.1	3.4	2009	18.3 Days	CHF 2100	Submit
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering jmse	2.7	4.4	2013	16.4 Days	CHF 2600	Submit
Remote Sensing remotesensing	4.2	8.3	2009	23.9 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Technologies technologies	4.2	6.7	2013	21.1 Days	CHF 1600	Submit

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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All Conservation Diversity JMSE Remote Sensing Technologies

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26 pages, 16943 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Nu—A Marine Life Monitoring and Exploration Submarine System

by Ali A. M. R. Behiry, Tarek Dafar, Ahmed E. M. Hassan, Faisal Hassan, Abdullah AlGohary and Mounib Khanafer

Technologies 2025, 13(1), 41; https://doi.org/10.3390/technologies13010041 - 20 Jan 2025

Viewed by 1904

Abstract

Marine life exploration is constrained by factors such as limited scuba diving time, depth restrictions for divers, costly expeditions, safety risks to divers’ health, and minimizing harm to marine ecosystems, where traditional diving often risks disturbing marine life. This paper introduces Nu (named [...] Read more.

Marine life exploration is constrained by factors such as limited scuba diving time, depth restrictions for divers, costly expeditions, safety risks to divers’ health, and minimizing harm to marine ecosystems, where traditional diving often risks disturbing marine life. This paper introduces Nu (named after an ancient Egyptian deity), a 3D-printed Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle (ROUV) designed in an attempt to address these challenges. Nu employs Long Range (LoRa), a low-power and long-range communication technology, enabling wireless operation via a manual controller. The vehicle features an onboard live-feed camera with a separate communication system that transmits video to an external real-time machine learning (ML) pipeline for fish species classification, reducing human error by taxonomists. It uses Brushless Direct Current (BLDC) motors for long-distance movement and water pump motors for precise navigation, minimizing disturbance, and reducing damage to surrounding species. Nu’s functionality was evaluated in a controlled 2.5-m-deep body of water, focusing on connectivity, maneuverability, and fish identification accuracy. The fish detection algorithm achieved an average precision of 60% in identifying fish presence, while the classification model achieved 97% precision in assigning species labels, with unknown species flagged correctly. The testing of Nu in a controlled environment has met the system design expectations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)

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10 pages, 1064 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Validating the Precision and Accuracy of Coral Fragment Photogrammetry

by Spencer Miller, Carlo Caruso and Crawford Drury

Remote Sens. 2024, 16(22), 4274; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16224274 - 16 Nov 2024

Viewed by 1024

Abstract

Photogrammetry is a common tool for evaluating ecosystem-scale questions on coral reefs due to the ability to measure complex structures in situ. This technique is also increasingly being used at smaller scales to collect growth and morphometric data about individual coral fragments in [...] Read more.

Photogrammetry is a common tool for evaluating ecosystem-scale questions on coral reefs due to the ability to measure complex structures in situ. This technique is also increasingly being used at smaller scales to collect growth and morphometric data about individual coral fragments in manipulative experiments. However, there are substantial uncertainties in data quality and interpretation and limited reporting of the parameters useful for standardization across studies. There is a need to characterize the capabilities of photogrammetry as applied to coral fragments, to establish validation metrics for reporting, and to determine sources of variation in measurements to refine and improve methods. Here, we used fragments of two common reef-building corals (Montipora capitata and Porites compressa) and known size standards to evaluate accuracy and precision and present suggested validation metrics. We also used a tiered experimental design to evaluate sources of error in a photogrammetry workflow in a manipulative experiment using a purpose-built multi-camera workstation. We demonstrate extremely high accuracy (R² > 0.999) in determining the surface area and volume of known objects, as well as very high precision (average CV < 0.01) in coral measurements during tests of reproducibility. These outcomes show the utility of fragment photogrammetry for experimental coral reef science and present suggested validation metrics and approaches that can help standardize data evaluation and interpretation in any application of photogrammetry to coral fragments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)

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14 pages, 2748 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Understanding Balanophyllia regia Distribution in the Canary Islands: Effects of Environmental Factors and Methodologies for Future Monitoring

by Cataixa López, Fernando Tuya and Sabrina Clemente

Diversity 2024, 16(8), 475; https://doi.org/10.3390/d16080475 - 6 Aug 2024

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 964

Abstract

The future of marine ecosystems is at risk due to climate change and other human impacts. Specifically, due to ocean warming, some tropical species are expanding their populations while populations of temperate species are in regression, making the establishment of conservation measures imperative [...] Read more.

The future of marine ecosystems is at risk due to climate change and other human impacts. Specifically, due to ocean warming, some tropical species are expanding their populations while populations of temperate species are in regression, making the establishment of conservation measures imperative to maintain local biodiversity. In this study we establish a baseline on the distribution and abundance of the temperate coral Balanophyllia regia from the Canary Islands. We found that the main environmental factors determining B. regia’s distribution and abundance were sea surface temperature and hydrodynamic conditions. Areas under large wave action and colder environments enhanced this warm-temperate species’ development. Since its metabolic performance depends exclusively on the surrounding environment, we also propose a methodology to potentially monitor climate change on coastal habitats through this azooxanthellate calcified coral. Results of a tagging experiment showed that a concentration of 20 mg/mL of calcein during 6 h might be enough to in situ label polyps of B. regia without compromising corallite survival. Long-term monitoring of population abundances and growth rates of B. regia through calcein tagging will allow us to identify alterations in local ecosystems early and focus future conservation investments on the most vulnerable areas with higher ecological and economic value. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)
(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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27 pages, 5844 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Variation in Coral Assemblages and Reef Habitat Complexity among Shallow Fore-Reef Sites in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

by Kayelyn R. Simmons, DelWayne R. Bohnenstiehl and David B. Eggleston

Diversity 2022, 14(3), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14030153 - 22 Feb 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3896

Abstract

With the unprecedented degradation and loss of coral reefs at multiple scales, the underlying changes in abiotic and biotic features relevant to the three-dimensional architecture of coral reefs are critical to conservation and restoration. This study characterized the spatiotemporal variation of habitat metrics [...] Read more.

With the unprecedented degradation and loss of coral reefs at multiple scales, the underlying changes in abiotic and biotic features relevant to the three-dimensional architecture of coral reefs are critical to conservation and restoration. This study characterized the spatiotemporal variation of habitat metrics at eight fore-reef sites representing three management zones in the Florida Keys, USA using visual habitat surveys (2017–2018) acquired before and after Hurricane Irma. Post-hurricane, five of those sites were surveyed using structure-from-motion photogrammetry to further investigate coral morphology on structural complexity. Multivariate results for visual surveys identified moderate separation among sites, with fished sites characterized by complex physical features such as depth and vertical hard relief while protected sites generally harbored high abundances of live coral cover. Three-dimensional models of mapped sites showed within site variation as another driver in site separation. Additionally, fine-scale orthoimage analyses identified significant differences in dominant coral morphologies at each mapped site. This study suggests protected reef sites generally harbor higher live coral cover despite some fished sites being structurally similar in seabed topography. Our work provides fine-scale spatial data on several managed sites within a marine sanctuary and highlights the contribution of diverse coral assemblages to the coral reef framework. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)
(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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12 pages, 2042 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Are Sunken Warships Biodiversity Havens for Corals?

by Gregory P. Asner, Sonja F. Giardina, Christopher Balzotti, Crawford Drury, Sean Hopson and Roberta E. Martin

Diversity 2022, 14(2), 139; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14020139 - 16 Feb 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4940

Abstract

Coral reefs are threatened by climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Artificial reefs may provide havens for corals, both to escape warming surface waters and to assist in the geographic migration of corals to more habitable natural reef conditions of the future. The largest [...] Read more.

Coral reefs are threatened by climate change, overfishing, and pollution. Artificial reefs may provide havens for corals, both to escape warming surface waters and to assist in the geographic migration of corals to more habitable natural reef conditions of the future. The largest artificial reefs have been generated by nearly 2000 shipwrecks around the world, but the coral diversity on these wrecks is virtually unknown. Ship size and hull material, location relative to natural reef, time since sinking, ocean currents, and water depth may affect coral diversity. As a test of the biodiversity capacity of very large sunken structures relative to surrounding natural reef, we carried out technical diver-based surveys to quantify genus-level coral diversity on 29 warships sunk in Bikini Atoll and Chuuk Lagoon. We also assessed whether ship length, as an index of substrate availability, and water depth, as an indicator of light and temperature, can serve as predictors of coral diversity. We surveyed a total of 9105 scleractinian corals. The total number of genera identified at Bikini was 34, and at Chuuk it was 51, representing 67% and 72% of genera found on natural reefs at Bikini and Chuuk, respectively. Ship length, but not water depth, was positively correlated with relative abundance and richness at the genus level. Our results suggest that very large wrecks can serve as havens for reef-building corals with a broad genetic diversity, expressed at the genus level, commensurate with corals found on neighboring natural reefs. The role of large artificial reefs could include protecting coral biodiversity from warming surface waters. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)
(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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8 pages, 602 KiB  

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceCommunication

Underwater Photogrammetry Captures the Initial Recovery of a Coral Reef at Lalo Atoll

by Atsuko Fukunaga, Kailey H. Pascoe, Ashley R. Pugh, Randall K. Kosaki and John H. R. Burns

Diversity 2022, 14(1), 39; https://doi.org/10.3390/d14010039 - 8 Jan 2022

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3027

Abstract

Recovery of coral reefs after physical damage sustained from storm events can be affected by various factors. Here, we examined the initial recovery of a coral reef at the southern end of uninhabited Lalo Atoll of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument after its complete [...] Read more.

Recovery of coral reefs after physical damage sustained from storm events can be affected by various factors. Here, we examined the initial recovery of a coral reef at the southern end of uninhabited Lalo Atoll of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument after its complete destruction by Hurricane Walaka in 2018. While the site was still mostly (98%) covered by a mixture of rubble and sand, surveys utilizing underwater photogrammetry allowed for detailed quantitative assessments of benthic cover and confirmed colonization of coral (Pocillopora meandrina and Porites lobata), macroalgae and sponges. The proportion of sand in the rubble–sand mixture also decreased from the level observed in 2019. Visual fish surveys confirmed the presence of 35 reef fish species, a large increase from no reef fish in 2019, despite the low biotic benthic cover. Overall, the colonization of benthic organisms and the return of reef fish, which is potentially supported by the benthos and cryptofauna in the rubble bed, offer positive signs of reef recovery. The photogrammetric surveys in the present study captured the subtle changes in the benthic cover and provided us with a procedure to continue monitoring the succession of the site. Continuous monitoring of the site should reveal whether the reef returns to the original state of Acropora coral dominance or progresses towards a coral assemblage with a different composition. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Technological Innovation to Support Reef Research and Conservation)
(This article belongs to the Section Marine Diversity)

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