David Zawada built the gadget for his dissertation research on coral reefs with help from his adviser, research oceanographer Jules Jaffe. Courtesy Photo David Zawada is a member of the team in oceanographer Jules Jaffe's lab that developed the new device, used recently to gauge the health of coral reefs. Jaffe said that variations on the underwater mouse might have other applications in oceanography, amateur photography or even commercial exploration. Jaffe said an optical mouse reflects light off any surface and stores the resulting images to detect motion. In addition, the aquatic mouse has a watertight housing and special buttons that detect changes in pressure.
Normal buttons use springs, and water pressure can depress the buttons.
Zawada said the specialized mouse is as easy to use as its landlubber cousin. It's a little bit bigger, obviously, but it operates just as smoothly as it does on the computer desktop. For Zawada, the mouse is peripheral to the study of coral. His dissertation focuses on the health of coral at varying temperatures as shown by fluorescence. Jaffe said dying reefs can indicate global warming.