ImageJ is a free, public domain software with the purpose of processing and analyzing scientific images. Initially developed in 1997 at the National Insititutes of Health in the United States by a developer named Wayne Rasband, it has been under continuous development ever since. Many iterations and variants of the software exist and it can serve a myriad of functions.
For the purposes of this course, we will be using the Fiji edition which is available as a free download for both Windows and macOS users. Fiji is specifically meant for biological image analysis, which we will be doing to track coral growth on one of our artificial reef projects. The software is simple and user-friendly, but highly useful for tracking the growth of coral colonies.
In this course, you will learn:
- Why ImageJ is a valuable tool for coral reef monitoring and research.
- How to download and install the software on your device.
- How to take ideal photographs for analysis on ImageJ.
- How to take accurate measurements of coral colonies using the software.
- How to analyze these measurements in Microsoft Excel to track growth.
There will be quiz at the end of each lesson and a final examination to test your ImageJ knowledge.
You can access the learning materials for this course by clicking on the “Materials” section above. You can get started learning by clicking on the “Why Use ImageJ?” lesson below!
Listen to an audio version of this course overview here:
1. First: Download ImageJ Fiji
Note: You need a device that supports Windows or macOS.
Additionally, all visual demonstrations and screenshots for this course were done with a Windows PC.
2. Video tutorials on how to measure coral growth (these videos are just supplementary and not required course material):
3. Data analysis video tutorial with practice photos (this video is just supplementary and not required course material):
4. If you do not have Microsoft Excel there is a free online version that you can access by signing up with Microsoft.
