Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab

What Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab does

The Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL) is a research laboratory within Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment, founded in 2002 and operating from Durham, North Carolina, with a secondary location at the Duke Marine Lab in Beaufort. MGEL develops open-source software tools, public data repositories, and species distribution models that integrate biological, satellite, and ocean observing data to support marine spatial planning, ocean conservation, and marine species management. Its primary user base consists of federal and state government agencies (U.S. Navy, NOAA, BOEM, Department of Energy, NYSDEC, Fisheries and Oceans Canada), academic researchers, and conservation organizations.

MGEL's product portfolio centers on three flagship assets: Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools (MGET), a free, open-source geoprocessing toolbox containing over 250–300 tools that plug into ArcGIS and are invokable from Python for oceanographic data retrieval, species distribution modeling, and larval connectivity simulation; OBIS-SEAMAP, the world's data center for marine mammal, seabird, sea turtle, shark, and ray distributions, hosting 1,526 datasets and millions of records of over 700 species, which feeds into the UN's OBIS database; and MiCO (Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean), a system aggregating telemetry data from global partners to produce 21 nodes and 17 corridors for seven migratory species. Supporting products include the Model Repository for the Northeast Ocean Plan, Biologically Important Areas (BIA) mapping for cetaceans, and MDAT (Marine-life Data Analysis Team) data services.

MGEL is structured as a non-profit academic research unit within Duke University and does not sell software or data; all tools and datasets are provided free of charge. The lab is funded through research grants from government agencies and foundations, including the U.S. Navy, NOAA, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, U.S. Office of Naval Research, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (via the International Climate Initiative), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Distribution relies entirely on open-source software downloads, public web data portals, and academic publication channels.

Name

Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab

Legal name

Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab

Website

https://mgel.env.duke.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Duke Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab is a Duke University research lab that develops open-source marine geospatial analysis tools (MGET), the OBIS-SEAMAP global marine species database, and the MiCO migratory connectivity system, serving government agencies, academic researchers, and conservation organizations worldwide.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Geospatial Analytics Software

NAICS

Geophysical Surveying and Mapping Services (54136)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Satellite Imagery & Remote Sensing Geospatial Platforms (BPAMANAM), Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC), Environmental Data Integration, ETL & Interoperability (APIs, Standards, Data Pipelines) (EUAHAKAB), Environmental Data Management Platforms (EHS/EMS, LIMS, ELN, Compliance Data Hubs) (EUAHAKAA)

Keywords

• Marine spatial planning
• Geospatial analysis software
• Species distribution modeling
• Marine conservation tools
• Oceanographic data analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Research Grants and Funding: The lab operates as a university research laboratory funded primarily through grants from government agencies and foundations including the U.S. Navy, NOAA, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Department of Defense, and German Federal Ministry for the Environment.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL) develops and distributes free, open-source geoprocessing software (MGET) and public marine biodiversity data platforms (OBIS-SEAMAP, MiCO) used by government agencies, academic researchers, and conservation organizations worldwide for marine spatial planning, species distribution modeling, and ocean conservation policy. The lab is a university research group that produces habitat-based density models for marine mammals and other protected species, and its data products flow into international frameworks such as UNESCO's OBIS.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• OBIS-SEAMAP: The world data center for marine mammal, seabird, sea turtle, shark & ray distributions, hosting 1526 datasets and millions of records of over 700 species
• Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools (MGET)
• MiCO
• Marine-life Data Analysis Team (MDAT)
• High Seas @ Duke

Products and services

• Marine Geospatial Ecology Tools (MGET) A free, open-source geoprocessing toolbox with over 250-300 tools that plugs into ArcGIS and is invokable from Python and other languages, supporting marine research, conservation, and spatial planning tasks including oceanographic data download, species distribution modeling, larval connectivity simulation, fisheries analysis, and statistics.
• OBIS-SEAMAP A web-based global marine species data center and mapping application hosting 1,526+ datasets and millions of records of over 700 marine mammal, seabird, sea turtle, shark, and ray species, whose data flows into the international OBIS managed by UNESCO.
• MiCO (Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean) A web-based system that aggregates telemetry and tracking data from over 50 partner organizations to generate actionable knowledge about migratory marine species, hosting 21 nodes and 17 corridors for seven species based on 357 animal tracks for conservation and policy use.
• Model Repository A repository of species distribution models and tabular data characterizing and mapping marine life in the Northeast region of the United States, providing base layer distribution products for cetacean, avian, and fish species used in regional ocean planning.
• Marine Mammal Density Models The only suite of marine mammal density models spanning the full US Atlantic Coast, also covering the Gulf of Mexico, US Navy AFTT study area, Arctic, and Mediterranean Sea, used by US Navy, NOAA, and BOEM for species distribution forecasting and environmental assessment.
• Biologically Important Areas (BIA) Mapping A mapping product that identifies areas and times where cetaceans concentrate for reproduction, feeding, and migration, providing a structured scoring framework used by NOAA for marine spatial planning and conservation prioritization.

Quantifiable outcome

• 19+ years of continuous data contribution to global marine biodiversity knowledge
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022International collaboration to develop transboundary density models for North Atlantic right whales spanning U.S. and Canadian waters. First in-person meeting held in Montreal, Quebec in December 2022.
• University of ExetercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 March 2021Collaboration on defining marine turtle high use areas for loggerhead turtles in the Northwest Atlantic and Mediterranean regions. Joint workshops and surveys on data management and sharing practices for marine turtle tracking data.
• MiCO ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2019A consortium of over 50 partners that launched the Migratory Connectivity in the Ocean system to aggregate and synthesize knowledge about migratory marine species for conservation policy. Partners include academic institutions, NGOs, and international organizations working to bridge the gap between scientists and policy makers.
• New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMGEL analyzing three years of acoustic and visual survey data collected by NYSDEC on large whales in state waters, correlating visual and acoustic data to develop relationships for density surface models.
• Regional Wildlife Science Collaborative for Offshore Wind (RWSC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRWSC coordinates research efforts to support offshore wind energy development in the U.S. Atlantic. MGEL staff coordinate the marine mammal subcommittee and contribute to the Integrated Science Plan for Wildlife and Offshore Wind.
• U.S. NavycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunded development of marine mammal density models for the Navy Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) study area for the Phase IV Navy Marine Species Density Database.
• NOAA FisheriescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator on transboundary North Atlantic right whale modeling and holder of award NA20NMF0080246 for the international collaboration.
• Cornell UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSource of 13 years of acoustic recordings from deployed acoustic recorders used in North Atlantic right whale research in Cape Cod Bay.
• Center for Coastal StudiesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in PCoMS right whale case study, providing zooplankton sampling for understanding right whale prey patterns in Cape Cod Bay.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution in the Population Consequences of Multiple Stressors (PCoMS) working group studying North Atlantic right whales.
• New England AquariumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner institution in the PCoMS working group studying North Atlantic right whales.
• UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer with Duke University of the UN side event at BBNJ negotiations for launching the MiCO system.
• Project WOW (Wildlife and Offshore Wind)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-institution initiative led by Duke Nowacek Lab with MGEL and Nicholas Institute collaboration, studying impacts of offshore wind development on marine wildlife. Funded by US Department of Energy and BOEM.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/duke-mgel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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