MERMAID, an open-source tech platform for marine scientists, is for the first time launching an interactive map that provides an insider’s view of the ecosystem data collected from coral reefs by field scientists around the world.
MERMAID (Marine Ecological Research Management AID) is a first of its kind free, online-offline platform that allows scientists anywhere in the world to collect, analyze, and share field-based coral reef surveys. Developed in partnership between the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Sparkgeo, MERMAID first launched in 2019. In the year since going public, field scientists across ten countries have input their monitoring expedition data from nearly 10,000 transects and >1,200 sites. Over 570 users have registered for MERMAID from 41 organizations around the world, including government agencies, nonprofits, and universities.
The platform now houses thousands of data points, allowing organizations and governments to monitor the impacts of climate change on vital reef ecosystems. This data helps us identify the world’s remaining functioning coral reefs, allowing us to strategically focus conservation efforts where they are most needed, while also providing insights used to support the recovery of struggling reefs to maintain livelihoods and food security for local communities.
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