- MERMAID is an open source application that collects and manages real-time data on coral reef health
- EDB funding will strengthen MERMAID, including by helping to use Postgres and AI to transform coral reef identification and monitoring and maintain an interconnected network of climate-resilient reefs by 2030.
BEDFORD, Mass., Aug. 27, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — – EnterpriseDB (“EDB”), the leading Postgres data and AI company, announced that it has committed to MERMAIDan initiative of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) that uses Postgres and AI, among other things, to help protect our planet’s coral reefs in the face of climate change. EDB’s commitment as a sponsor of MERMAID supports the “30×30 target‘ of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, “an ambitious commitment to protect 30% of land, inland waters, coastal and marine areas by 2030.”
MERMAID is a cutting-edge open source application for collecting and managing real-time coral reef ecosystem data. Postgres, the world’s most advanced open source database, drives innovation for organizations around the world. With EDB’s support, MERMAID can leverage the full power of Postgres to improve the accuracy and speed of coral reef identification and monitoring. In addition, MERMAID will soon integrate AI algorithms that can analyze large amounts of data collected from reefs, identify patterns, and predict potential bleaching events before they become critical.
Coral reefs are home to about 25% of marine life. With increasing climate change, coral bleaching has destroyed millions of reefs worldwide. Last year, about 54% of all reefs are affected by bleaching-level heat stress, which can lead to mass extinctions of hundreds of species. The consequences of these trends threaten the livelihoods of at least one billion coastal people who depend on coral reefs for food, medicine and tourism income.
“Two things can help solve the global coral reef crisis: urgent policy action to halt climate change and using underwater monitoring data to identify and protect climate-resilient coral reefs,” said Dr. Emily Darling, Director of Coral Reef Conservation at WCS and co-founder of MERMAID. “But collecting, managing and analyzing this important data is time-consuming and complicated for coral reef researchers. That’s why we developed MERMAID and chose Postgres.”
“Democratizing data across users, environments and applications is paramount in the age of AI, and even more important when our world’s oceans are at stake,” said Kevin Dallas, CEO of EDB. “After over 35 years of active development, Postgres is the most extensible and flexible database, trusted by millions of nonprofits, government agencies and commercial companies alike. What we’re seeing here is that Postgres will play a vital role in the future of our planet as well.”
Since its launch in 2018, MERMAID has been used by over 2,000 scientists in 40 countries who have submitted over 50,000 transects from 5,000 coral reef sites around the world. Modernizing data collection with PostgreSQL has increased efficiency by three to five times compared to using traditional spreadsheets. By enabling data sharing and collaboration among thousands of scientists and volunteers collecting reef data, MERMAID users can leverage PostgreSQL to manage their monitoring data and empower local communities and government partners to protect these critical environments.
This news follows shortly after EDB’s announcement EDB Postgres® AIan intelligent platform for transactional, analytical and AI workloads. EDB Postgres AI is the industry’s first platform that can be deployed as cloud, software or physical appliance, all powered by the same Postgres engine. Now Postgres and EDB enable customers to break down data silos and launch new AI initiatives in any cloud, anywhere, with the assurance of enterprise-grade security, compliance and availability.
For more information about EDB and the MERMAID initiative, visit http://enterprisedb.com/mermaid-edb.
About EDB
EDB provides a data and AI platform that enables enterprises to leverage the full power of Postgres for transactional, analytical and AI workloads in any cloud, anywhere. EDB enables enterprises to control risk, manage costs and scale efficiently for a data and AI-driven world. EDB serves more than 1,500 customers worldwide and is the leading contributor to the dynamic and fast-growing PostgreSQL community. The company supports large government organizations, financial services, and media and information technology companies. EDB’s data-driven solutions enable customers to modernize legacy systems and break down data silos while leveraging enterprise-grade open source technologies. EDB offers the assurance of up to 99.999% high availability with built-in mission-critical features such as security, compliance controls and observability. For more information, visit www.enterprisedb.com.
About the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)
WCS combines the strength of its zoos and an aquarium in New York City with its Global Conservation Program in more than 50 countries to fulfill its mission to protect wildlife and wild places. WCS operates the world’s largest conservation program, protecting more than 50 percent of the Earth’s known biodiversity; in partnership with governments, indigenous peoples, local communities and the private sector. Its four zoos and aquariums (the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and the New York Aquarium) welcome more than 3.5 million visitors each year and inspire generations to care for nature. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org. Consequences: @WCSNewsroomFor more information, call +1 (347) 840-1242. Listen to the WCS Wild Audio Podcast HERE.
