Adapting 3D reconstruction software for coral reef structural complexity analysis

Undergraduates: Samir Patel, Justin Baumann

Faculty Advisor: Karl Castillo
Department: Mathematics

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Coral reefs are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic climate change stressors such as rising seawater temperature, ocean acidification, nutrient enrichment, sedimentation, and overfishing. These stressors have led to significant declines in the health of coral reef communities around the world, particularly those in the Caribbean Sea. These anthropogenic impacts have caused shifts in reef communities from coral-dominated communities to algal-dominated communities. As coral community health, cover, and diversity decrease, so does architectural complexity. It is important to study the 3D structural complexity of reef-building corals since certain, more complex, coral communities offer niche habitats for many aquatic species and contribute greatly to the biodiversity of marine ecosystems. In the past, reef complexity has been studied by techniques that rely heavily on estimation with survey divers rating complexity on a scale of 1 to 5. These methods, however, are somewhat subjective and semi-quantitative and can vary based on the individual conducting the survey. New imaging methods now allow for 3-dimensional reconstructions to produce metrics that are far more accurate than previous, more subjective estimations. In this project, we seek a reliable method for producing these reconstructions from diver survey videos using Agisoft PhotoScan.