In the shimmering waters of our oceans, coral reefs serve as the lungs of the sea — vital ecosystems that support nearly 25% of marine life. But as climate change continues to accelerate, these delicate structures are under threat like never before. With rising temperatures causing mass bleaching events, the survival of these vibrant underwater worlds — and the nearly one billion people who live within 100km of coral reefs and rely on them — is at stake.
In the face of this challenge, hope emerges through open source innovation.
At the forefront of this fight is MERMAID (Marine Ecological Research Management AID), an initiative led by the dedicated Dr. Emily Darling of the Wildlife Conservation Society. What started as a grassroots effort to streamline data collection has transformed into a global movement bringing cutting-edge technology to the heart of coral reef conservation.
A love story with data at its core
For Dr. Darling, MERMAID is more than just a tool — it's a love story with the ocean that began on the coast of East Africa. Twenty years ago, as a young graduate student in Kenya, she found herself grappling with spreadsheets filled with coral data. The task was daunting: hundreds of files in various formats, each telling the tale of coral reefs that had survived, or succumbed to, the devastating bleaching events of 1998.
Determined to make sense of this data and to tell the story of these resilient ecosystems, Dr. Darling envisioned a solution that would democratize data collection for coral reef scientists worldwide. That solution was MERMAID.
Built on the robust and flexible foundation of Postgres, MERMAID has transformed the way coral reef data is collected, managed, and shared. What began as a simple mission to ensure "data in and clean data out" has blossomed into a global initiative currently empowering over 2,000 scientists across 44 countries. These scientists have submitted more than 60,000 underwater monitoring transects from 6,000 sites around the world, contributing to a global effort to identify and protect climate-resilient coral reefs.
Technology with a purpose
MERMAID’s success is deeply intertwined with the technology that powers it. Leveraging Postgres, MERMAID provides scientists with a reliable, scalable, and cost-effective platform. Postgres’s adaptability has allowed MERMAID to seamlessly integrate AI capabilities and enhance the efficiency of ecological data collection and analysis by up to five times.
"MERMAID comes back down to its simplest core, which is data in and clean data out," says Dr. Darling. "Our package is used by a lot of coral reef scientists to quickly analyze aggregate and visualize their data. All of these features can be quickly scaled with a flexible database like Postgres.”
This integration of technology and underwater monitoring is not just about improving efficiency; it's about creating a powerful tool for change. By enabling rapid data processing and real-time analysis, MERMAID is helping scientists and decision-makers around the world make informed choices about where to focus their conservation efforts.
The ultimate goal? To double the number of identified climate-resilient coral reefs by 2030 and ensure that these biodiversity hotspots are protected for generations to come.
A partnership for the good of the planet
At EDB, we are incredibly proud to sponsor MERMAID and the crucial work of Dr. Darling and her team. As the leading contributor to the Postgres community, EDB understands the power of open-source technology in driving social, environmental, and economic prosperity. Our commitment to supporting MERMAID is a testament to our belief in the potential of Postgres to tackle the world's most pressing challenges (there’s a reason we always come back to the phrase, “just solve it with Postgres”).
"The democratization of data across users, environments, and applications is paramount in the age of AI, and even more critical when our world’s oceans are at stake," says Kevin Dallas, CEO of EDB. "Postgres has a powerful role to play in the future of our planet."
We believe that with the right tools, initiatives like MERMAID can turn the tide on coral reef conservation and create a brighter future for our planet. With MERMAID leading the way, supported by the strength of Postgres, that future is within reach.