Reef image analysis
Photo-transect organization, benthic annotation, human review, and quality-focused workflows that turn underwater imagery into ecological information.
Science & Capabilities
Built from the field.
Made to make science useful.
Neptune Tide is an independent ocean brand founded by marine biologist Daniel Conley. Its science work draws on coral reef ecology, image-based monitoring, field methods, and clear public-facing communication.
A working foundation
Ocean culture backed by real marine science.
Neptune Tide does not present itself as a large environmental consulting firm. It is a platform shaped by Daniel’s prior work in coral reef ecology, scientific imaging, biological surveys, habitat monitoring, and marine community assessment.
The goal is to connect capable science, strong visuals, and accessible storytelling, without losing the care that good field and image data require.
Capabilities
From observation to usable insight.
CoralNet workflows
Machine-learning-assisted annotation, training-set development, CoralNet interpretation, and practical comparison with expert analysis.
Field & habitat monitoring
Experience across coral reef ecology, biological surveys, eelgrass and Caulerpa work, habitat monitoring, and marine community assessments.
Research communication
Clear technical writing, visual storytelling, and public-facing material that keeps the science accurate while making it easier to understand.
Current research direction
Coral imagery, methods, and reef ecology.
Daniel’s continuing research focus is the practical use of reef imagery: how field methods, human expertise, and machine-learning-assisted tools can work together to describe coral cover, community composition, and change through time.
This direction is grounded in long-term photo-quadrat experience, including fieldwork at Ishigaki Island, Japan, as well as Fiji reef imagery and CoralNet workflows, with an emphasis on methods that remain transparent, interpretable, and useful for real monitoring questions.
Literature & research
Published work and what is coming next.
The work below belongs to Daniel Conley’s scientific record. It informs Neptune Tide’s perspective.
Published papers
Open accessFrontiers in Marine Science · 2021
A Non-destructive Method to Create a Time Series of Surface Area for Coral Using 3D Photogrammetry
A coral methods paper describing a non-destructive photogrammetry workflow for measuring coral surface area through time.
Read paperArthropods · 2026
Phylogenetic insights into the evolution of sound production in spiny lobsters (Palinuridae)
A phylogenetic study exploring the evolutionary history of sound production across spiny lobsters.
Read paperUpcoming papers
In developmentMethods paper
Expanded Tools for Autonomously Annotating Benthic Coral Reef Imagery Using CoralNet Integrated with Coral Point Count with Excel Extensions (CPCe)
A practical methods paper on pairing CoralNet workflows with CPCe-based coral reef image analysis.
Review paper
From Transects to CoralNet: The Evolution of Field Methods in Coral Ecology
A review of the movement from traditional transects and quadrats to image-based and machine-learning-assisted annotation workflows.
Reef ecology paper
From Crest to Deep: A CoralNet Analysis of Depth Zonation in Fijian Reefs
A Fiji reef ecology paper evaluating depth-related patterns in coral cover and coral diversity around Totoya through CoralNet and expert annotation.
Read study focus
Photo transects from nine reef sites around Totoya, spanning 5–20 m depth, are used to describe spatial and depth-related patterns in live hard coral cover and coral diversity, and to compare a CoralNet machine-learning annotator with trained human analysis.
Additional unpublished research
2012 field studyMaster’s capstone fieldwork · Unpublished
Coral Cover Surveys Across Marine Park Zones at Ishigaki Island, Japan
Daniel’s 2012 master’s capstone used PVC photo-quadrats to document coral cover across Shiraho survey sites inside and outside Japanese Marine Park Zones.
The project established an early foundation for his later image-based reef research by pairing standardized field imagery with practical questions about coral community condition and marine protected-area context.
Additional unpublished research
2019 field study
Coral photophysiology · Unpublished manuscript
Dynamic Tissue Movement and Bio-optical Responses of Shallow-water Corals from Heron Island, Australia
A 2019 study examining how Favites abdita and Goniastrea sp. adjust tissue position in response to intense light, and how those movements affect spectral reflectance.
High-resolution video and hyperspectral measurements were used to evaluate rapid photo-behavior in corals collected from contrasting light environments. The work points to tissue movement as a fast, dynamic complement to pigment-based photoacclimation.
Collaboration
Have a monitoring, imagery, or science-communication idea?
Neptune Tide is open to conversations around ocean-science collaboration, field-informed storytelling, and practical ways to make marine research more visible and useful.