“I’ve always been a water baby,” explains Dr Jeneen Hadj-Hammou, a former coral reef researcher at the Mubadala Arabian Center for Climate and Environmental Sciences at New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) who now works with the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). “I was in water, swimming, before I did anything else in life,” she says. Having lived in Cairo as a kid, Jeneen has fond memories of reefs in the Red Sea: “You could literally stick your head in the water and find seahorses!”
Jeneen has been immersed in coastal waters ever since. As a postdoctoral associate in a team led by Associate Professor John Burt, she gathered data from coral reefs to inform conservation approaches around the Arabian/Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; working at NYUAD, she also helped develop a coral reef monitoring program for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to better understand spatial and temporal patterns in the region. Combining observational survey data from seven counties in Northeastern Arabia, this work helped identify the impacts of climate change on coral reefs.
This project was two-fold: First, gathering new information via underwater coral reef surveys; and second, consolidating a mountain of historical monitoring data going all the way back to regional studies from the 1980s. Looking back on those original research projects, Jeneen saw a cast of contributors as vast and varied as the reefs they were attempting to monitor – research scientists from different organizations, locations, and fields of study, all doing the same work but approaching it from different perspectives and with different methodologies.
These issues were reflected in the historical data collected by scientists from the 80s, 90s and 2000s: “They wanted to collaborate,” she says, “but didn’t have the tools or the mechanisms to really make that collaboration effective.” As it turns out, reflecting on limitations of the past would provide insights and inspiration for the present.
A tool for collaboration and convenience
The NYUAD research team was supported by a network of collaborators spanning the Northeastern Arabian Coral Reef Monitoring Network. By utilizing MERMAID, these various groups were able to centralize their data, standardize input processes, and share knowledge. And this collaboration unlocked all kinds of possibilities. “It was so easy to train people and have this one system that everyone used, a way to store our data that would allow everyone to access it whenever they want,” says Jeneen. “And also to be able to share it with all of our government partners, with other universities, institutions – it was super easy.”
MERMAID also provided practical solutions for the challenges of fieldwork. While monitoring reefs in the Musandam Governorate of Oman, Jeneen would often travel to survey sites in remote locations where there was little or no connection to the internet. “Using the offline mode, we could enter our data then and there,” she says, remembering how her team combined information from various laptops and notebooks into a single, centralized location. “Obviously, this was very useful.”
Back on dry land and in the lab, MERMAID’s automated validation process helped improve accuracy and standardization of data, which made it more reliable and therefore more useful. As Jeneen recalls, “MERMAID allowed us to integrate our data better, work together, and really understand the regional changes and regional differences in these ecosystems.” When the NYUAD team entered their information, MERMAID’s validation and quality control protocols helped correct minor errors before they became major issues: “You’re able to catch any problems automatically,” explains Jeneen. “The validation process provided a systematic way of validating data and catching potential mistakes. It made our data input more… intentional.”
MERMAID in the Arabian/Persian Gulf: The Numbers
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Less time at the computer, more time on the reef
Jeneen noticed that MERMAID not only improved accuracy, but also helped save time. Tasks like calculating fish biomass data (an essential but laborious part of any coral reef research project) were completed “almost instantaneously.” Feeding the historical data into the MERMAID Collect app automatically generated graphs that helped visualize the information, while the dashboard feature offered a simple, clear, and effective way to present information to donors and government organizations (e.g., survey location, key insights into reef health, changes to a single site over time, etc.). Jeneen describes the MERMAID dashboard as “super clear, really easy to access, and easy to share.”
Looking to the future, she hopes technology like MERMAID can help create a “community of practice” that can provide training, create partnerships, pair skills with access and expertise, and improve the transparency of results. “As a scientist – and just as a person who loves these ecosystems – I think the data allows you to tell stories and allows you to share experiences with others and create an understanding of something that maybe not everyone has access to…It allows you to tell a big-picture story and, hopefully, influence conservation and management of these ecosystems in a way that benefits everyone.”
About Jeneen
Dr Jeneen Hadj-Hammou is an Algerian/Palestinian aquatic food systems researcher at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED). After studying for a BSc at Leeds University and an MSc at Oxford University, she completed her PhD at Lancaster University. Her areas of expertise include coral reef ecology, ecosystem functions, functional traits, climate change, MPAs, fisheries, food systems, and conservation. Jeneen’s research has been published in leading journals including Nature Scientific Reports, Functional Ecology and Marine Policy. She is still crazy about seahorses.