Coral Reef Beauty Calculated with New Computation Analysis

Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but scientists are now coming up with a way to measure it. They've used computational analysis of photographic images in order to assess the beauty-and health-of coral reefs.

In this latest study, the researchers created a tool to computationally measure the aesthetic appearance of coral reefs. They compiled and modified a list of 109 visual features that can be used to assess the aesthetic appeal of an image, such as the relative size, color, and distribution of discernible objects within the image, as well as texture and color intensity. The computer program they created then assessed these features and analyzed more than 2,000 random photographic images of coral reefs from around the world.

"Our results suggest that our perception of aesthetics is well-aligned with healthy, thriving ecosystems," said Andrea Haas, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In fact, the results show that there are striking similarities between the aesthetic score produced for random reef images and the health of the respective reef ecosystem as evaluated by reef scientists. This suggests that human perception of aesthetic value is not purely subjective. Instead, it's influenced by inherent components of nature that indicate healthy or degraded states. In theory, this tool could be used to assess the status and health of coral reef communities.

"By quantifying aesthetic features of coral reef systems, this method provides a cost effective tool that also targets one of the most important socioeconomic values of coral reefs-their natural beauty," said Haas.

The findings are published in the journal PeerJ.

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