Twenty years ago, Georgia Aquarium opened its doors and has since provided a look beneath the surface into the planet’s vast underwater ecosystems to millions of visitors. In addition to being a world-class tourist attraction, the Aquarium also conducts innovative research and champions conservation efforts for the thousands of species that call the facility home. 

As technology plays an increasingly vital role in Georgia Aquarium’s operations, partnerships with Georgia Tech have allowed researchers to gain insight into the biology, physiology, and ecology of animals both in their care and in the wild. 

“Working with Tech allows us to be at the forefront of cutting-edge research, and it lets us ask questions that no one else can ask and collaborate to find those answers,” said Cameron Perry, a Tech alumnus and Georgia Aquarium research scientist. 

From playing a role in completing the first-ever shark genome map to examining the smallest microbes in ocean environments, Georgia Tech has provided its expertise to the Aquarium for the past 20 years, and new projects are currently underway.

Seeing Is Believing

When Georgia Aquarium opened, most people in the Western Hemisphere had never seen a whale shark in person. For Perry, his first trip to Georgia Aquarium sparked a desire to learn more about the gentle giants. This journey led him to Georgia Tech, where he was one of the first Ph.D. students in Tech's Ocean Science and Engineering program in 2019. 

A partnership between Perry’s program and the Aquarium led him from the classroom to the open waters of St. Helena, an island in the South Atlantic Ocean. He and a team of researchers deployed trackers and captured new data related to the mating and migration habits of whale sharks in the wild, leading to increased protection for adults and their young.

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Cameron Perry diving with whale sharks in St. Helena. Photo courtesy of Georgia Aquarium.

After completing his degree, Perry joined Georgia Aquarium to lead its whale shark and manta ray initiatives. In his role, he feels a responsibility to the next generation of marine scientists — to give them a place where they can be inspired to learn and ask questions, as it was for him. 

“Seeing is believing. Coming to a place where you can see these animals and learn more about them is a place where you can learn to love them, learn to care for them, and be a better steward of the environment,” he said.

Innovation Meets Conservation 

More than 15 research projects have been completed between Georgia Tech and Georgia Aquarium, each using technology to improve care in aquarium settings and gather data from endangered species in the wild. 

“Georgia Aquarium and Georgia Tech support each other's missions because, the bottom line is, we’re all trying to learn more about the ecosystems in which these animals live, more about the species and how we can protect them,” Perry said. 

In 2020, before the opening of the Aquarium’s Sharks! Predators of the Deep exhibit, Perry examined the habitat’s transition from fresh to saltwater, collecting data to inform future habitat design, water-quality management, and population density at aquariums worldwide. 

Several recent projects showcase how the Institute continues to make a difference and advance conservation efforts through technological innovation. 

Machine Learning in the Tanks 

Georgia Tech has taken a leading role in exploring applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning, an expertise that Emily Keaton, a second-year Ph.D. student in biology, is using to monitor animals at the Aquarium. After working as a dive master in the Aquarium’s dive immersion program for three years, Keaton returned to research at Tech as a member of Patrick McGrath’s lab.

By installing cameras in the Aquarium's largest exhibit, Ocean Voyager, Keaton's team aims to improve data collection and behavioral monitoring using machine learning. The exhibit is home to more than 50 species, and Keaton’s team believes the creation of datasets and baseline behavioral profiles can help to answer questions about quantifying changes, when they happen, how the environment plays a role in behavior, and more. 

A New Type of Enrichment 

Enrichment devices allow animals, like sea otters, to engage in activities that mimic natural foraging behaviors and stimulate their brains. Looking to capture new information on how otters learn to use new devices and how their interactions with enrichment devices may change over time, the Aquarium partnered with the Animal-Computer Interaction Lab to design new devices implanted with motion sensors.