A geometric basis for surface habitat complexity and biodiversity

Torres-Pulliza, Damaris; Dornelas, María; Pizarro, Oscar; Bewley, Michael; Blowes, Shane A.; Boutros, Nader; Brambilla, Viviana; Chase, Tory J.; Frank, Grace E.; Friedman, Ariell; Hoogenboom, Mia O.; Williams, Stefan B.; Zawada, Kyle J. A.; Madin, Joshua S.

doi:10.1101/2020.02.03.929521

Cited by 16 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Structural complexity is essential for hydrodynamic processes that transport heat and nutrients and entrain larvae (Monismith 2007;Hearn et al 2001;Hata et al 2017). Reef complexity is important to many ecological patterns and processes, such as the maintenance of biodiversity (Torres-Pulliza et al 2020), habitat zonation (Done 1982), and recovery following disturbances (Burns et al 2016). While the importance of structural complexity has been recognized for decades (Alvarez-Filip et al 2011;Graham and Nash 2013), little is known about how individual corals of different species, morphologies, and sizes contribute to reef complexity in an objective, quantitative manner.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…When applied to coral reefs, photogrammetry can accurately capture a wide range of both two-dimensional (2D) and 3D data (House et al 2018). Photogrammetric products such as point clouds, digital elevation models (DEMs), and orthomosaic imagery can be used to measure coral reef structural complexity (Anelli et al 2019;Friedman et al 2012;Figueira et al 2015;Burns et al 2015;Leon et al 2015), coral growth (Ferrari et al 2017), coral community composition (Burns et al 2015;Torres-Pulliza et al 2020), and structural changes in a reef environment (Burns et al 2016;Fallati et al 2020). Photogrammetric products can be spatially registered for repeat surveys that can measure ecological and structural changes to the reef (Edwards et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The contribution of corals to reef structural complexity in Kāne‘ohe Bay

2021

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The structural complexity of coral reefs provides important ecosystem functions, such as wave attenuation for coastal protection, surfaces for coral growth, and habitat for other organisms. Corals build much of this structure, but an understanding of how colonies of different species and sizes contribute to complexity is lacking. We quantified three interdependent descriptors of complexity-rugosity, fractal dimension, and height range-for reef patches as well as the corals growing upon them in Ka ¯ne'ohe Bay (O'ahu, Hawai'i). Despite similar levels of reef-scale complexity throughout the bay, we found marked differences in how species contribute to this complexity. Variation in complexity among species was closely tied to colony morphology, but not to colony size. Together, our results show that no one species is sufficient to generate the full spectrum of habitat complexities we see on coral reefs, which has direct implications for reef recovery and restoration.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of corals to reef structural complexity in Kāne‘ohe Bay

2021

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“…This technique provides researchers versatility to study the reef from the coral polyp to reef-scale. To date, a majority of studies on coral reefs utilizing SfM methodology have focused on quantifying structural complexity (Burns et al, 2015a;Figueira et al, 2015;Storlazzi et al, 2016;Bryson et al, 2017;Fukunaga et al, 2020;Torres-Pulliza et al, 2020). Others have used SfM in smallscale studies to quantify disease and bleaching (Fox et al, 2019;Voss et al, 2019;Burns et al, 2020), spatial clustering of corals (Edwards et al, 2017;Pedersen et al, 2019), coral growth (Kodera et al, 2020;Lange and Perry, 2020), and size frequency distributions (Hernández-Landa et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing Coral Colony Surveys From In-Water Observations and Structure-From-Motion Imagery Shows Low Methodological Bias

et al. 2021

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As the threats to coral reefs mount, scientists and managers are looking for innovative ways to increase the scope, scale, and efficiency of coral reef monitoring. Monitoring changes in coral communities and demographic features provides key information about ecosystem function and resilience of reefs. While most monitoring programs continue to rely on in-water visual survey methods, scientists are exploring 3D imaging technologies such as photogrammetry, also known as Structure-from-Motion (SfM), to enhance precision of monitoring, increase logistical efficiency in the field, and generate a permanent record of the reef. Here, we quantitatively compare data generated from in-water surveys to SfM-derived metrics for assessing coral demography, bleaching, and diversity in the main Hawaiian Islands as part of NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. Our objectives were to compare between-method error to within-method error, test for bias between methods, and identify strengths and weaknesses of both methods. Colony density, average colony diameter, average partial mortality, prevalence of bleaching, species richness, and species diversity were recorded using both methods within the same survey areas. For all metrics, the magnitude of between-method error was comparable to the within-method error for the in-water method and between method error was significantly higher than within-method error for SfM for one of the seven metrics. Our results also reveal that a majority of the metrics do not vary significantly between methods, nor did we observe a significant interaction between method and habitat type or method and depth. Exceptions include estimates of partial mortality, bleaching prevalence, and Porites juvenile density–though differences between methods are generally small. Our study also highlights that SfM offers a unique opportunity to more rigorously quantify and mitigate inter-observer error by providing observers unlimited “bottom time” and the opportunity to work together to resolve difficult annotations. However, the necessary investment in equipment and expertise does present substantial up-front costs, and the time associated with curating imagery, photogrammetric modeling, and manual image annotation can reduce the timeliness of data reporting. SfM provides a powerful tool to reimagine how we study and manage coral reefs, and this study provides the first quantified methodological comparison to validate the transition from standard in-water methods to SfM survey methods for estimates of coral colony-level surveys.

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“…Photogrammetry also enables novel metrics which can capture more subtle changes in growth and fitness, but also alterations to coral structure that may indicate unexpected outcomes of phenotype-environment interactions [36,37] (Figure 1). Some of the most exciting metrics relate to coral fitness (e.g., accretion, surface area, and volume) [15,38,39] and habitat function (e.g., fractal dimension, surface curvature, branch packing, interstitial space, field of view, and object distribution) [40][41][42][43]. ).…”

Section: Innovating and Standardizing Indicators Of Restoration Successmentioning

confidence: 99%

Photogrammetry as a tool to improve ecosystem restoration

Ferrari

Lachs

Pygas

et al. 2021

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

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Ecosystem restoration has been practiced for over a century and is increasingly supported by the emergent applied science of restoration ecology. A prerequisite for successful ecosystem restoration is determining meaningful and measurable goals. This requires tools to monitor success in a standardized way. Photogrammetry uses images to reconstruct landscapes and organisms in three dimensions, enabling non-invasive measurement of key success indicators with unprecedented accuracy. We propose photogrammetry can improve restoration success by: (i) facilitating measurable goals; (ii) innovating and standardizing indicators of success; and (iii) standardizing monitoring. While the case we present is specific to coral reefs, photogrammetry has enormous potential to improve restoration practice in a wide range of ecosystems. The need for ecosystem restoration in the AnthropoceneEarth's ecosystems are highly degraded, and as we enter the Anthropocene their health will likely diminish further without concerted and innovative conservation efforts. There is growing recognition that ecosystems which are subject to novel and large-scale disturbances require active management interventions, such as ecosystem restoration. Thus, the United Nations (2019) has declared 2021-2030 as the 'Decade of Ecosystem Restoration' [United Nations Environment Agency (2019) Resolution 73/284: United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) (https://undocs.org/A/RES/73/284)]. For restoration to be successful, research is needed to answer how, when, and where to implement restoration interventions. The practice of ecosystem restoration is underpinned by the science of restoration ecology [1], and both will play an increasingly important role in ecosystem and biodiversity management in the Anthropocene.

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A geometric basis for surface habitat complexity and biodiversity

Cited by 16 publications

References 39 publications

The contribution of corals to reef structural complexity in Kāne‘ohe Bay

The contribution of corals to reef structural complexity in Kāne‘ohe Bay

Comparing Coral Colony Surveys From In-Water Observations and Structure-From-Motion Imagery Shows Low Methodological Bias

Photogrammetry as a tool to improve ecosystem restoration

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