Understanding glass sponge reef structure and function using a structure-from-motion approach

Glass sponges build their skeletons out of silicon dioxide (i.e. glass). While these animals are found all over the world in very deep water, they only exist shallower than 50 m in a few places in the world. In very rare cases, new sponges grow on top of existing, dead sponges and form reefs in a similar manner to coral reefs. As with coral reefs, the structure formed by the reefs is ecologically important because it provides complex habitat and shelter for other animals. However, the structure of the reef can be challenging to measure using the two-dimensional methods that ecologists traditionally use. We propose to measure the glass sponge reefs using technology that captures 3-D shapes using photos or videos, and to explore what 3-D information can tell us about the health of the ecosystem. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Sally Leys

Student:

Nikita Sergeenko

Partner:

Ocean Wise

Discipline:

Biology

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Program: