In a study published recently in Coral Reefs , scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego created and analyzed detailed photomosaics of the coral reef at Palmyra Atoll, and made surprising discoveries around coral spatial ecology. The scientists, led by graduate student Clinton Edwards, canvassed more than 17,000 square feet of reef, and 44,008 coral colonies, taking more than 39,000 images that were then stitched together to create 3D photomosaics that encompassed the reef.

In a study published recently in Coral Reefs, scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego created and analyzed detailed photomosaics of the coral reef at Palmyra Atoll, and made surprising discoveries around coral spatial ecology. The scientists, led by graduate student Clinton Edwards, canvassed more than 17,000 square feet of reef, and 44,008 coral colonies, taking more than 39,000 images that were then stitched together to create 3D photomosaics that encompassed the reef.

Edwards and his co-authors analyzed these mosaics and discovered that coral colonies on Palmyra’s reef are arranged in a non-random way. They demonstrated for the first time that corals tend to be clustered together across the reef landscape, and that the strength of this clustering is tightly linked to the specific growth and reproductive strategy used by a given coral.

Edwards said that based on what he’d observed during the many hours he’d spent analyzing the mosaics, he had a hunch they would see some evidence for non-random clustering. “I was, however, quite surprised to find so little evidence for randomness,” he said. “There is a level of mathematical texture that the eye just can’t catch and I don't think anyone expected such consistent results.”

Stuart Sandin, a professor of marine ecology at Scripps, who is Edwards’ PhD advisor and senior author on the paper, says the mosaic technology can help scientists’ understanding of marine ecology catch up with their knowledge of terrestrial ecology.

Read more at University of California - San Diego

Image: Coral reef researchers canvas a reef in Palmyra. The images taken will be stitched into a 3-D photo mosaic to further study and analyze the reef. (Credit: Stefani Gordon)