AI is trained to hear the sound of coral life

Scientists listened to an underwater sound recording off the islands of central Indonesia, hearing what sounded like the bonfire of a coral reef teeming with life.

According to research by scientists from British and Indonesian universities just published in the journal Ecological Indicators, they used hundreds of such audio clips to train a computer program to monitor the health of the reef. chant by listening to the sound from it.

A researcher installs a hydrophone in the sea in the Spermonde Islands, Indonesia.

Life sciences expert and lead researcher Ben Williams said that healthy reefs have a tumultuous sound "like a campfire" from all the creatures that live on and within the coral. Meanwhile, the sound from a degraded reef sounded more destructive.

According to this study, an artificial intelligence (AI) system parses data points such as the frequency and loudness of sounds from audio clips and can identify with at least 92 percent accuracy whether the data is correct or not. whether the reef is healthy or in decline.

The scientists hope this new AI system will help conservation groups around the world more effectively monitor reef health.

A hydrophone is placed on a coral reef in the sea in the Spermonde archipelago, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia to record underwater sounds.

Coral reefs are under pressure from man-made carbon emissions that have warmed the ocean's surface by 0.13 degrees Celsius per decade and increased acidity by 30% since the industrial era.

According to the Global Reef Monitoring Network, about 14% of the world's corals disappeared between 2009 and 2018, an area 2.5 times larger than the Grand Canyon National Park in the US.

Although covering less than 1% of the ocean floor, coral reefs support more than 25% of marine biodiversity, including turtles, fish and lobsters, making them fertile ground for the global fishing industry. bridge.

The study will help monitor coral reef health in Indonesia, said Indonesian conservationist and lecturer at Hasanuddin University's marine science department Syafyudin Yusuf.

The researchers also hope to collect underwater audio recordings from reefs in Australia, Mexico and the Virgin Islands to help gauge progress on coral restoration projects.