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Description:
Author(s):
Fukunaga, A. ; Burns, J. H. ; Craig, B. K. ; Kosaki, R. K.
Title:
Integrating three-dimensional benthic habitat characterization techniques into ecological monitoring of coral reefs
Publication Date:
2019
Journal Title:
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Volume:
7
Page(s):
27
Abstract:
"Long-term ecological monitoring of reef fish populations often requires the simultaneous collection of data on benthic habitats in order to account for the effects of these variables on fishassemblage structure. Here, we described an approach to benthic surveys that uses photogrammetrictechniques to facilitate the extraction of quantitative metrics for characterization of benthic habitatsfrom the resulting three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of coral reefs. Out of 92 sites surveyed inthe Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, photographs from 85 sites achieved complete alignment andsuccessfully produced 3D reconstructions and digital elevation models (DEMs). Habitat metricsextracted from the DEMs were generally correlated with one another, with the exception of curvaturemeasures, indicating that complexity and curvature measures should be treated separately whenquantifying the habitat structure. Fractal dimensionD64, calculated by changing resolutions of theDEMs from 1 cm to 64 cm, had the best correlations with other habitat metrics. Fractal dimension wasalso less affected by changes in orientations of the models compared to surface complexity or slope.These results showed that fractal dimension can be used as a single measure of complexity for thecharacterization of coral reef habitats. Further investigations into metrics for 3D characterization ofhabitats should consider relevant spatial scales and focus on obtaining variables that can complementfractal dimension in the characterization of reef habitats."
Keywords:
structure-from-motion photogrammetry; 3D reconstruction; digital elevation model; habitat complexity; coral reef
Electronic DOI:
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