Creating Global Access to Coral Thermal Resilience Data
Challenge
A team of global coral researchers, restoration practitioners and technologists developed a strategic approach to saving our coral reefs. While the scientists worked to improve and simplify the methods for collecting data, Carey and her team worked to understand the user and system requirements for a coral database.
This database would serve multiple user groups, but the primary goal was to provide better data to coral restoration managers toward improving outcomes. A prototype system was developed and tested and funding for the full database is being pursued.
Assessing whether a technological solution could provide a platform for interdisciplinary research and data that would advance coral selection criteria for coral restoration projects.
Implementation
We began by researching the field and interviewing experts from across the community who represent geneticists, ecologists, marine biologists, reef managers, evolutionary biologists, and climate adaptation scientists, among others.We evaluated existing data sets and platforms, their tools and usage by coral scientists in combination with identification of the gaps in the field of knowledge.
We synthesized our results into a proposal for a data rich platform that allowed disparate data sets to be viewed holistically for multiple user types through sophisticated algorithms and visualization outputs.
Impact
Our research and prototype proved that a platform for coral researchers to synthesize data is not only viable but necessary to accelerate the identification of thermally resilient coral and expedite effective remediation of threatened reefs.
