Using virtual reality to estimate aesthetic values of coral reefs

Royal Society Open Science
Julie VercelloniErin E Peterson

Abstract

Aesthetic value, or beauty, is important to the relationship between humans and natural environments and is, therefore, a fundamental socio-economic attribute of conservation alongside other ecosystem services. However, beauty is difficult to quantify and is not estimated well using traditional approaches to monitoring coral-reef aesthetics. To improve the estimation of ecosystem aesthetic values, we developed and implemented a novel framework used to quantify features of coral-reef aesthetics based on people's perceptions of beauty. Three observer groups with different experience to reef environments (Marine Scientist, Experienced Diver and Citizen) were virtually immersed in Australian's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) using 360° images. Perceptions of beauty and observations were used to assess the importance of eight potential attributes of reef-aesthetic value. Among these, heterogeneity, defined by structural complexity and colour diversity, was positively associated with coral-reef-aesthetic values. There were no group-level differences in the way the observer groups perceived reef aesthetics suggesting that past experiences with coral reefs do not necessarily influence the perception of beauty by the observer. The framework de...Continue Reading

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References

Dec 29, 2000·Nature·A SalihO Hoegh-Guldberg
May 10, 2001·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·N Knowlton
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Citations

Jun 19, 2021·PeerJ. Computer Science·Julie VercelloniKerrie Mengersen

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