Using virtual reality to estimate aesthetic values of coral reefs
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Description
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 developed here provides a generic tool to help identify indicators of aesthetic value applicable to a wide variety of natural systems. The ability to estimate aesthetic values robustly adds an important dimension to the holistic conservation of the GBR, coral reefs worldwide and other natural ecosystems.
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ID Code: | 120678 | ||||||||||||
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Item Type: | Contribution to Journal (Journal Article) | ||||||||||||
Refereed: | Yes | ||||||||||||
ORCID iD: |
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Measurements or Duration: | 10 pages | ||||||||||||
Keywords: | Bayesian, Great Barrier Reef, aesthetics, virtual reality | ||||||||||||
DOI: | 10.1098/rsos.172226 | ||||||||||||
ISSN: | 2054-5703 | ||||||||||||
Pure ID: | 33364731 | ||||||||||||
Divisions: | Past > Institutes > Institute for Future Environments Past > QUT Faculties & Divisions > Science & Engineering Faculty Current > Schools > School of Mathematical Sciences Current > Research Centres > ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical & Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) |
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Copyright Owner: | Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters | ||||||||||||
Copyright Statement: | This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the document is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to qut.copyright@qut.edu.au | ||||||||||||
Deposited On: | 14 Aug 2018 03:50 | ||||||||||||
Last Modified: | 01 Mar 2024 18:57 |
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