Coral reefs are at the heart of numerous scientific studies, from exploring their extraordinary biodiversity to assessing the impacts of climate change or developing restoration strategies. These efforts rely on a diverse and substantial array of coral-specific data: underwater mapping, environmental measurements, laboratory-based coral growth studies, and more.
However, researchers face a significant challenge: the fragmentation of coral-specific data. Scattered across Excel files, emails, handwritten notes, and unconnected platforms, this data becomes difficult to manage and fully utilise. The solution lies in centralising data in marine research, a crucial step for scientists focusing on coral management and inventory and reef ecosystems.
In this article, discover how to effectively structure your data, explore the technological tools available for collection, and learn best practices to improve coral management, tracking, and the overall health of coral colonies while fostering collaboration within research teams.
1. Why centralise data in coral research?
Coral reefs as a model for study
- Tracking bleached corals and assessing environmental stressors.
- Studying coral growth in land-based facilities (aquariums and captive coral tanks).
- Mapping and monitoring reefs with drones and sensors.
- Analysing coral-specific metrics, such as colony size, coral fragment growth, and surface area changes.
The risks of poor data management
- Loss of critical information for projects.
- Data duplication, leading to errors during analysis.
- Difficulty in sharing data among team members or external partners.
- Slower scientific publication timelines.
2. Challenges in collecting and centralising coral Data
Dispersed data in varied formats
Diverse environments: marine and ex-situ facilities
Coral research spans both marine environments and ex-situ facilities. In the latter, coral nurseries, tanks, and aquariums are used to study coral growth and responses to environmental factors. Collecting data in these two contexts requires distinct tools, and integrating the information into a unified system is essential to minimise errors and maintain consistency in results.
A Coral Restoration Technology platform with SCADA for Coral Restoration capabilities enables seamless data integration and automation across both marine and ex-situ environments, ensuring reliability and scalability in research.
Lack of seamless collaboration between teams
Marine research projects often involve multiple teams, sometimes geographically dispersed or working across disciplines (biology, chemistry, engineering, etc.). Without a centralised tool, collaboration becomes more complex, and communication regarding critical data is inefficient. The lack of real-time access to data can slow research progress and compromise result quality. A Coral Management and Inventory Software fosters collaboration by providing shared, real-time access to data, enabling researchers to work more effectively.
3. Tools and technologies for marine data collection
Underwater drones and Autonomous Vehicles (AUVs)
Underwater drones, such as the BlueROV2, enable high-precision surveys of coral reefs. These flexible tools can collect continuous data at challenging depths, capturing images, measuring coral colony sizes, and analysing environmental conditions.
Connected environmental sensors
Connected sensors measure variables such as water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, and salinity. These sensors can be deployed in marine environments or land-based tanks, providing real-time data over extended periods. This facilitates accurate analysis of factors influencing reef health and coral behaviour.
Weight and size measurement systems
In ex-situ facilities, precise measurement systems track coral biomass evolution. High-precision scales and size-measuring devices enable researchers to monitor coral growth in controlled environments, providing critical data to understand development.
Image analysis software
Tools like CoralNet use AI algorithms to analyse underwater images, measuring coral colony sizes and monitoring health. These tools are vital for evaluating the impact of reef restoration efforts.
Ex-situ facilities management systems
Ex-situ facilities rely on connected systems to monitor coral maintenance conditions and water quality parameters in nurseries and tanks, such as temperature and flow rates. These systems automate data collection, minimise human error, and support large-scale analysis.
All these sensors and tools can be integrated into a centralised control system managed by SCADA for Coral Restoration, ensuring seamless data collection and management. The LXA_DataTech software enables researchers to record, display, and analyse data in real-time, transforming coral restoration efforts with cutting-edge technology.
4. Best practices for data centralisation
Standardise data formats
Centralise data in a single platform
A centralised platform streamlines data management, enabling all team members to access the same information in real time, reducing errors and preventing data loss. Such a solution also organises data for easier future analyses.
Discover how to implement these practices with our Coral Facilities Management System, designed to manage and monitor coral colonies for restoration and scientific research.
Automate data collection
Foster real-time collaboration
Conclusion
Centralising data in marine research is essential for optimising project management, improving researcher collaboration, and ensuring reliable results. By leveraging advanced coral restoration technology and collaborative tools, researchers can better track coral reef dynamics, improve coral health, and contribute to their conservation.
Explore our solutions tailored to your marine research data centralisation needs on our LXA Fishlab Coral Management and Inventory Software presentation page. With features designed for scalability and enhanced efficiency, our tools are transforming coral restoration efforts around the globe.