Collaborative Research: EAGER: The next crisis for coral reefs is how to study vanishing coral species; AUVs equipped with AI may be the only tool for the job

合作研究：EAGER：珊瑚礁的下一个危机是如何研究正在消失的珊瑚物种；

• 批准号: 2333604
• 负责人: Yogesh Girdhar
• 金额: $ 20万
• 依托单位: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-01-01 至 2025-12-31
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2333604&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; EAGER; next; crisis

The coral reef crisis is characterized by global declines in the abundance of corals and fishes, and a rise in the abundance of macroalgae. This project assesses the abundance and extinction risk of two rare coral species using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered underwater robots in autonomous deployments. This novel technology allows quantification of corals that occur at such low population densities that human divers cannot spend long enough underwater to find them, and is applicable to other fields of research, transforming the study of rare animals. The project also builds an academic bridge between a Hispanic Serving 4-year university and a marine research institution, provides cross-training for two graduate students and an early-career research engineer in coral ecology and underwater robotics, and supports robotics-themed training for local high school students. Coral reefs have become depleted of corals, and many species are entering a period of rarity that might be a prelude to extinction. Traditional ecological tools are inadequate to enumerate these corals, which is the first step in quantifying the risk of extinction and the prospects for recovery. This project trains an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) with artificial intelligence (AI) to search for rare corals and challenges it in a test bed created by 37 y of data from coral reefs where iconic pillar and brain corals are being pushed to extinction. The project team is testing two hypotheses: (1) recent events have catalyzed a new decline in abundance of corals, and (2) demographic trajectories of rare corals will end in extinction. This novel technology is applicable to other ecosystems, transforming the study of rare organisms. This project is co-funded by the Directorate for Geosciences to support AI/ML advancement in the geosciences.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

珊瑚礁危机的特点是全球珊瑚和鱼类丰度下降，而大型藻类丰度上升。该项目使用人工智能 (AI) 驱动的水下机器人进行自主部署，评估两种稀有珊瑚物种的丰度和灭绝风险。这项新技术可以对珊瑚的数量进行量化，这些珊瑚的种群密度如此之低，以至于人类潜水员无法在水下花费足够长的时间来找到它们，并且适用于其他研究领域，从而改变了对稀有动物的研究。该项目还在拉美裔四年制大学和海洋研究机构之间架起了一座学术桥梁，为两名研究生和一名早期职业研究工程师提供珊瑚生态学和水下机器人技术的交叉培训，并支持机器人主题培训当地的高中生。珊瑚礁中的珊瑚已经枯竭，许多物种正在进入稀有时期，这可能是灭绝的前奏。传统的生态工具不足以对这些珊瑚进行计数，这是量化灭绝风险和恢复前景的第一步。该项目训练具有人工智能 (AI) 的自主水下航行器 (AUV) 来搜索稀有珊瑚，并在由珊瑚礁 37 年的数据创建的测试台上对其进行挑战，在这些珊瑚礁中，标志性的柱状珊瑚和脑珊瑚正被推向灭绝。该项目团队正在测试两个假设：(1) 最近发生的事件导致珊瑚数量再次下降，(2) 稀有珊瑚的人口统计轨迹将以灭绝告终。这项新技术适用于其他生态系统，改变了对稀有生物的研究。该项目由地球科学理事会共同资助，以支持地球科学领域的 AI/ML 进步。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。