Meet Jamon Jordan
Bio
My name is Jamon Jordan and I am a rising senior from GA attending the University of Georgia. I am on track to acquire a double major in Fisheries and Wildlife with an emphasis in Aquatic and Science and Natural Resource Management and sustainability with an emphasis in GIS and a minor in Ecology. My interests include ichthyology, remote sensing, and marine spatial ecology. I have actually wanted to be a Hollings Scholar ever since I was in middle school and found out about NOAA. Although this experience has changed drastically due to the pandemic, I am still grateful to have been blessed with the opportunity to work with corals for the first time. I have always had a passion for marine conservation and knowing my work this summer will contribute to preserving the cities of the sea is extremely gratifying. Being on the same team as Lyza, Niki, Steve, and Robbie also makes adapting to this virtual work environment easier.
Abstract
Coral nurseries are an effective tool for preserving reef ecosystem health from climate change impacts and regional stressors. To maximize the performance of nurseries, practitioners have historically calculated growth data on corals within nurseries by measuring linear extension with rulers and tapes, which can only document change over time on a single dimension/plane, or resort to removing the coral from the water to obtain metrics like volume or surface area. The goal of this project is to develop a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) using 3D photogrammetry as a suitable methodology for analyzing the growth of coral fragments in coral nurseries, by examining a suite of corals currently growing in a coral nursery on Saipan, CNMI. Photogrammetry enables 3D models of coral fragments to be generated in order to derive volume and surface area data on the accretion of complex carbonate structures. Proper objective data on growth rates, when paired with environmental data within the nursery or from parent colony collection sites, may also help determine which fragments recover better based on current, temperature, and depth within the nursery. Gaining a better understanding of coral growth within 3 dimensions has the potential to better inform conservation decisions and contribute to the preservation of reef ecosystems.
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