Eloise Elkington

Institution:
University of Oxford

Profile

My masters project used machine learning tools to conduct a comprehensive benthic survey of the reefs surrounding Diego Garcia atoll in the Chagos Archipelago.

I compared my benthic survey to data dating back to 2006, to understand the recovery and changes in coral cover over time. This broad scale assessment of reefs around Diego Garcia provides a baseline from which to measure reef response to the ongoing mass bleaching event and highlights reef sites of particular conservation value.

The successful use of machine learning tools to conduct our survey suggests that in combination with local stakeholders in the territory, regular and reproducible monitoring of these reefs could become routine, a boon for one of the world’s most pristine and least understood coral reef ecosystems.

Eloise Elkington

Biography

2023 2024
Masters in Biology, University of Oxford.
2020 2023
BSc Biological sciences, University of Oxford.

My Project

  • Species Distribution and Ecology
    A Conservation Framework for the Endangered Chagos Brain Coral, Ctenella chagius