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Project properties |
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| Title | Exploring the potential of 3D models to survey abundance of gorgonians in the Mediterranean Sea |
| Group | Marine Animal Ecology |
| Project type | thesis |
| Credits | 6-12 |
| Supervisor(s) | Erik Wurz |
| Examiner(s) | Tinka Murk, Ronald Osinga, Reindert Nijland, Rosa van der Ven or Diede Maas |
| Contact info | erik.wurz@wur.nl |
| Begin date | 2024/12/01 |
| End date | 2025/12/01 |
| Description | Can also be a SRP!
Photogrammetry models offer the potential to study marine sessile organisms in great detail outside the water.. This project aims at exploring the possibilities of the software Metashape to model a large bolder rock covered in colonies of gorgonians. You will be tasked with calculating the surface area of the rock and count the number of gorgonians living on it. Based on these information abundance can be calculated. This work is impossible for divers to do insitu, as the depth is 48m and time that divers can spend there is very limited. Video files are available for building models with help of the software and afterwards calculate different parameters of the model. The data has been collected by citizen scientific divers supporting the Coral Soul project based in La Herradura Spain. This project will directly contribute to the conservation of this unique MPA by highlighting the high abundance of vulnerable marine species in the area. |
| Used skills | 3D modelling, simple programming work, biometric calculations of marine invertebrates, species identification |
| Requirements | Interest in application of new technologies |