VisAlgae 2023: A Dataset and Challenge for Algae Detection in Microscopy Images

Microalgae, vital for ecological balance and economic sectors, present challenges in detection due to their diverse sizes and conditions. This paper summarizes the second "Vision Meets Algae" (VisAlgae 2023) Challenge, aiming to enhance high-throughput microalgae cell detection. The challenge, which attracted 369 participating teams, includes a dataset of 1000 images across six classes, featuring microalgae of varying sizes and distinct features. Participants faced tasks such as detecting small targets, handling motion blur, and complex backgrounds. The top 10 methods, outlined here, offer insights into overcoming these challenges and maximizing detection accuracy. This intersection of algae research and computer vision offers promise for ecological understanding and technological advancement. The dataset can be accessed at: https://github.com/juntaoJianggavin/Visalgae2023/.

Marine Microalgae Detection in Microscopy Images: A New Dataset

Marine microalgae are widespread in the ocean and play a crucial role in the ecosystem. Automatic identification and location of marine microalgae in microscopy images would help establish marine ecological environment monitoring and water quality evaluation system. A new dataset for marine microalgae detection is proposed in this paper. Six classes of microalgae commonlyfound in the ocean (Bacillariophyta, Chlorella pyrenoidosa, Platymonas, Dunaliella salina, Chrysophyta, Symbiodiniaceae) are microscopically imaged in real-time. Images of Symbiodiniaceae in three physiological states known as normal, bleaching, and translating are also included. We annotated these images with bounding boxes using Labelme software and split them into the training and testing sets. The total number of images in the dataset is 937 and all the objects in these images were annotated. The total number of annotated objects is 4201. The training set contains 537 images and the testing set contains 430 images. Baselines of different object detection algorithms are trained, validated and tested on this dataset. This data set can be got accessed via tianchi.aliyun.com/competition/entrance/532036/information.