Google has introduced a new AI tool, SurfPerch, designed to assist marine biologists in understanding and preserving coral reef ecosystems. Developed in collaboration with Google Research and DeepMind, SurfPerch analyzes thousands of hours of reef audio recordings, providing insights into reef health, nighttime activity, and conditions in deep or murky waters.
The initiative began by inviting the public to participate in listening to reef sounds through Google’s “Calling in Our Corals” website. Over the past year, researchers asked visitors to listen to over 400 hours of reef audio from various global locations and click when they heard fish sounds. A crowdsourced effort resulted in a ‘bioacoustic’ dataset focusing on reef health, which researchers then used to fine-tune SurfPerch.
Efficiency and New Opportunities
“This allows us to analyze new datasets with far more efficiency than previously possible, removing the need for training on expensive GPU processors and opening new opportunities to understand reef communities and conservation of these,” explained a Google blog post co-authored by Steve Simpson, a Marine Biology professor at the University of Bristol, and Ben Williams, a marine biologist at University College London. Both researchers specialize in coral ecosystems, particularly in areas like climate change and restoration.
Interestingly, the researchers discovered that SurfPerch’s performance could be enhanced by using bird recordings. Despite the differences between bird songs and fish sounds, the AI model identified common patterns that improved its learning capabilities.
Initial Findings and Ongoing Efforts
By combining data from “Calling Our Corals” with SurfPerch, researchers uncovered distinctions between protected and unprotected reefs in the Philippines, monitored restoration outcomes in Indonesia, and gained a better understanding of fish communities on the Great Barrier Reef.
The project is ongoing, with new audio continuously added to the “Calling in Our Corals” website, further training and refining the AI model. Google’s innovative approach demonstrates how AI can play a crucial role in marine conservation efforts.
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