Mentor(s)

Andrew Davies & Kristofer Gomes , Oceanography, Biological Sciences, University of Rhode Island

Project Location

University of Rhode Island – Bay Campus

Project Description

Narragansett Bay represents an important ecological and economic resource within Rhode Island and has been the subject of increased monitoring efforts, including as part of the Rhode Island Coastal Ecology Assessment Innovation and Modeling (RI-CAIM) project. This project focuses on the development of baited underwater camera systems, also known widely as BRUVs, to learn more about transient fauna within Narragansett Bay, and fuses ocean technology with fundamental questions about our environment. We will couple the analysis of physical, chemical, and biological data generated by the RI C-AIM buoy system to provide insight into how environmental conditions in the Bay drive fish population patterns in a non-invasive manner.

We will develop a low-cost camera system around the Raspberry Pi computer board and Raspberry Pi camera, coupled with a control circuit that allows for time-lapse photography and videography. We will waterproof the system in an off the shelf pressure housing from Blue Robotics and integrate a lighting system. We will use 3D printers to design the internals, develop basic electronics and control scripts to turn on and off the camera system and develop some simple frames to hold the camera system and bait whilst deployed on the seafloor. When coupled with bait, we hope to attract mobile species to the camera, so we can record their abundance, time of arrival and behavior. When coupled with data from our observing buoys stationed in the Bay, we can start to ask important questions about how the environment in the Bay influences fish species.

Field work including time spent offshore on a small boat in Narragansett Bay will enable testing of the system near our oceanographic buoy platforms that were deployed as part of RI C-AIM and are maintained by the Davies Laboratory at the Graduate School of Oceanography. Responsibilities will include: Developing the camera system, leading in tank and in field tests and analyzing preliminary data obtained from the system.

This project involves lab, field and computational work

Required/Preferred skills

Required: Familiarity with basic data analysis. General background in the use and capability of 3D printers. Some exposure to Computer Aided Design software. Interest in ocean engineering and technology.

Preferred: Basic knowledge of the Python programming language.

Will the project require transportation to field sites? No

Is this project open to Surf Flex? Yes

In which core facilities might student conduct research? Marine Science Research Facility @URI-GSO

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