Abstract:
3D information of underwater topographies can be obtained more easily nowadays. In general, those measurements do not provide the spatial nor temporal detail for more specific research of dynamic processes, such as sediment transport. More recently, we have seen the advance of true interdisciplinary ecohydraulics research initiatives. One important research avenue is the interaction of organisms with flow and sediment. We have used stereo vision substantially for fluvial morphology studies over the last years, and will present and discuss the use of stereo vision for ecohydraulic research. The work is undertaken in the laboratory, and we present a workflow of reconstructing seashells. We obtain shape and dimensional information, which are important to better understand the organism’s interaction in the natural water environment. Although we find that stereo vision is suitable to capture our studied organisms, the challenge of studying organisms in their natural environments persists. We discuss the limitations of our approach, and the need to fuse technical and behavioural knowledge to better manage our ecosystem.