Linking Fish Biomass and Coral Reefs Structural Complexity Across the Mariana Archipelago
August 11, 2025
Understanding how structural complexity influences fish habitat choices could help leverage structural data for fish habitat management.
In 2022, the Ecosystem Sciences Division (ESD) led NCRMP across Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—hereafter referred to as the Mariana Archipelago—adding Structure-from-Motion (SfM) image collection protocols as part of its in-water data collection portfolio. The standardized image collection procedures along with a semiautomated SfM image processing pipeline allow deriving 3D models and scaled imagery of coral reefs from which it is possible to quantify multiple ecological metrics, including fine-detailed structural complexity.
Torres-Pulliza, D., Oliver, T., Weible, R., Lichowski, F., Kindinger, T., Gajdzik, L., & Couch, C. (2025). Linking fish biomass and coral reefs structural complexity across the Mariana Archipelago (PIFSC Technical Memorandum Series, TM-PIFSC-180). Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center. doi.org/10.25923/epgn-3x74