Who we are
AquaCoda brings together science, citizen observation and technology to better understand aquatic-animal behaviour and communication.
Created by scientist Sophie Cohen-Bodénès, the project invites people to observe, document and share aquatic behaviour responsibly.
Meet the founder
Sophie Cohen-Bodénès, PhD, is a scientist working at the intersection of animal behaviour, neuroscience and technology. Her research explores how animals perceive, communicate and interact with their environment.
Sophie obtained her PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris working on deciphering a new communication signal in the cuttlefish. She then conducted a post-doc research project at Washington University in Saint Louis, School of Medicine, on the Sensory Neuroscience of hearing in Zebrafish and communication behavior of Danionella Dracula fish.
She created AquaCoda to make behavioural observation more accessible and to connect scientific research with the curiosity and experience of fish keepers and citizen scientists.
Why AquaCoda exists
Three simple ideas guide everything we build.
Observe
Help people recognise and document meaningful aquatic-animal behaviour.
Connect
Bring together fish keepers, citizen scientists and researchers.
Understand
Build structured datasets that may support scientific research and future AI-assisted analysis.
Our mission
To create a responsible citizen-science platform where observations of aquatic-animal behaviour and communication can be documented, compared and studied.
Animal welfare, scientific caution and informed consent guide every contribution.
Our flagship project: BettaCoda
BettaCoda documents Betta fish behaviour and investigates possible sound communication through passive, non-invasive observation.
Can Betta fish communicate with sound?
Shared video and sound observations may help identify recurring acoustic and behavioural patterns.
A collective project
A single observation may be difficult to interpret. By bringing together observations from many fish, species and environments, the AquaCoda community can help reveal recurring patterns.
Every participant helps build a shared record of aquatic behaviour and communication.
From observations to future AI research
AquaCoda's long-term ambition is to support the development of AI-assisted tools that may help identify and compare aquatic-animal behaviour and communication patterns.
These tools are still a research objective. They must be developed carefully and interpreted with scientific review.
Our values
Animal welfare first
Observation must never come at the expense of the animal.
Scientific care
We distinguish preliminary observations from confirmed evidence.
Respect and consent
Participants control how their observations may be shared and used.
Open participation
Curiosity and careful observation can contribute to collective knowledge.