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Can we measure beauty? Computational evaluation of coral reef aesthetics
- Source :
- PeerJ, vol 3, iss 11, PeerJ, PeerJ, 3:e1390. PeerJ, PeerJ, Vol 3, p e1390 (2015)
- Publication Year :
- 2015
- Publisher :
- PeerJ, 2015.
-
Abstract
- The natural beauty of coral reefs attracts millions of tourists worldwide resulting in substantial revenues for the adjoining economies. Although their visual appearance is a pivotal factor attracting humans to coral reefs current monitoring protocols exclusively target biogeochemical parameters, neglecting changes in their aesthetic appearance. Here we introduce a standardized computational approach to assess coral reef environments based on 109 visual features designed to evaluate the aesthetic appearance of art. The main feature groups include color intensity and diversity of the image, relative size, color, and distribution of discernable objects within the image, and texture. Specific coral reef aesthetic values combining all 109 features were calibrated against an established biogeochemical assessment (NCEAS) using machine learning algorithms. These values were generated for ∼2,100 random photographic images collected from 9 coral reef locations exposed to varying levels of anthropogenic influence across 2 ocean systems. Aesthetic values proved accurate predictors of the NCEAS scores (root mean square error < 5 forN≥ 3) and significantly correlated to microbial abundance at each site. This shows that mathematical approaches designed to assess the aesthetic appearance of photographic images can be used as an inexpensive monitoring tool for coral reef ecosystems. It further suggests that human perception of aesthetics is not purely subjective but influenced by inherent reactions towards measurable visual cues. By quantifying aesthetic features of coral reef systems this method provides a cost efficient monitoring tool that targets one of the most important socioeconomic values of coral reefs directly tied to revenue for its local population.
- Subjects :
- media_common.quotation_subject
lcsh:Medicine
Aesthetics
Medical and Health Sciences
Computational Science
General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
Image analysis
Abundance (ecology)
Perception
Machine learning
Life Below Water
Sensory cue
media_common
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
General Neuroscience
lcsh:R
Coral reef
General Medicine
Biological Sciences
Visual appearance
Feature (computer vision)
Reef degradation
Beauty
General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
Monitoring tool
Environmental Sciences
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 21678359
- Volume :
- 3
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- PeerJ
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....b323be78c0726775cea5d26274a8c22d