COTS and COTS scar dataset

One of the primary challenges in Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (COTS) management is the detection of COTS. Additionally, identifying COTS scars is crucial for locating areas that may be affected by COTS and estimating the probability of their presence. This dataset comprises annotations for COTS and COTS scars derived from images collected by the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) using their innovative ReefScan platform.
The images were thoroughly reviewed by domain experts to identify COTS and COTS scars. For efficiency in annotation, not all images were annotated for COTS scars; however, when an image was annotated for scars, all visible scars within that image were included. For COTS annotations, all visible COTS were annotated.
The dataset contains a total of 11,243 images, including annotations for 9,208 COTS and 18,142 scar polygons that can be used to develop an AI model for COTS and COTS scar detection.