Emerging Technologies and Coral Reef Conservation: Opportunities, Challenges, and Moving Forward

Abstract

Coral reefs worldwide are declining at an accelerating rate due to multiple types of human impacts. Meanwhile, new technologies with applications in reef science and conservation are emerging at an ever faster rate and are simultaneously becoming cheaper and more accessible. Technology alone cannot save reefs, but it can potentially help scientists and conservation practitioners study, mitigate, and even solve key challenges facing coral reefs. We examine how new and emerging technologies are already being used for coral reef science and conservation. Examples include drones, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), 3D mapping and modeling tools, high resolution and nano satellite imagery, and a suite of monitoring and surveillance tools that are revolutionizing enforcement of sustainable reef fisheries. We argue that emerging technologies can play a pivotal role in tackling many of the critical issues facing coral reef conservation science and practice, but maximizing the impact of these technologies requires addressing several significant barriers. These barriers include lack of awareness of technologies and tools, prohibitive cost, lack of transferability across systems and/or scales, lack of technical expertise, and lack of accessibility. We discuss where analogous challenges have been overcome in another system and identify insights that can provide guidance for wise application of emerging technologies to coral reef science and conservation. Thoughtful consideration of, and adaptation to, these challenges will help us best harness the potential of emerging and future technological innovations to help solve the global coral reef crisis.

Which Method for Which Purpose? A Comparison of Line Intercept Transect and Underwater Photogrammetry Methods for Coral Reef Surveys

“…Confronting the global coral reef crisis, challenging conservation targets require the optimization of reef survey methods. New technologies can promote rapid advancements in reef science and support management programs to solve key issues facing coral reefs (Bellwood et al, 2004;Hoegh-Guldberg et al, 2018;Madin et al, 2019. In this context, our study is a first step to launch the likely transition from traditional methods to novel and more efficient ones (Storlazzi et al, 2016). We also provide new information to complement and optimize reef surveys, and enhance the effectiveness of conservation programs.…”

Coral Reef Community Changes in Karimunjawa National Park, Indonesia: Assessing the Efficacy of Management in the Face of Local and Global Stressors

“…Reef communities are complex, and detailed community composition data collected by monitoring programs can be difficult to decipher, particularly when collected across large geographic areas facing multiple local and global stressors. Technology is allowing us to collect more detailed data across ever larger areas, but without appropriate analytical techniques, meaningful changes may be missed and improved capabilities around data collection may not translate into effective real world actions [66].…”

Monitoring of Coral Reefs Using Artificial Intelligence: A Feasible and Cost-Effective Approach

“…The number of open-access online tools for automated image annotation and robust demonstrations of their applications across conservation disciplines [16,30,45,46] is rapidly increasing. Critical steps are now needed to capitalise on these efforts [28,47] and maximise the advantages of a global monitoring and conservation science empowered by machine learning.…”