Coral reefs are dying

Coral reefs represent 30% of oceans' biodiversity while covering less than 0.1% of their surface. The disturbances they suffer (impacts of climate change, direct anthropogenic impacts) are such that 90% of these ecosystems could have disappeared by 2050. Beyond their extraordinary biodiversity, their services to 850 million people are threatened. These services (e.g., coastal protection, food resources, income from tourism, carbon sequestration) are estimated at more than 10 billion US dollars per year worldwide.

Until recently, coral reef monitoring methods were mainly based on visual cues (e.g., counts, imagery). In contrast, Reef Pulse leverages the richness of underwater soundscapes to develop new solutions to solve the current crises which coral reefs are facing. Ecosystem evaluation from another angle is complementary and offers a vast innovation potential.