Effort enlists citizens to shine light on light pollution

Light may be one of the most overlooked environmental threats to the Great Lakes, according to a project that recently mapped them.

Researchers with the Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping Project mapped environmental stressors to the Great Lakes, including light pollution.

Excessive lighting disrupts wildlife habits and habitats, said David Allan, a professor with the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan who led the project.

... Reaching out to people everywhere, including the Great Lakes region, the GLOBE at Night project is attempting to build a global database of light pollution through citizen-science.

“In cases like this, no one scientist can get all the data they need,” Said Connie Walker, an associate scientist and senior science education specialist with the GLOBE at Night program. “That’s the nature of citizen-science. It’s the best way to involve people in science and get a lot of data from a lot of places in a short amount of time.”

Great Lakes Echo - greatlakesecho.org

13 Feb 2013

J Dau

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How Your Vacation Photos Could Help Save the Freaking Whale Shark

Prior to the 1980s, there were fewer than 350 confirmed sightings of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) worldwide. But by next year, that annoying girl on your Facebook feed who seems to do nothing but go on vacation will probably have a whole album full of whale shark pics. And that’s just what might save the beautiful bastards from extinction.

Whale sharks are thought to be quite rare, but scientists have long struggled to estimate their true numbers. Individual animals can be identified through unique markings behind each gill and an inventory of scars, but the fact that the creatures seem to migrate thousands of miles over the course of a year makes it difficult to keep pace with them. (Help us help you, whale sharks.) They are officially listed as facing a high risk of extinction in the wild, where they are vulnerable to collisions with boats and lovers of shark fin soup.

Fortunately, tourists love to take pictures of sea monsters. It probably helps that the world’s largest fish enjoys warm waters, slow surface swimming, and a diet that looks nothing like a human being. And while they react when touched, whale sharks usually pay little mind to swimmers and divers, likely because their massive size—they’re about the length of a school bus and weigh 20 tons—means they fail to see us as a threat. (Hubris: not just for humans.) This matter-of-factness also means any old tourist with a decent point-and-click can capture clear enough images to use for identification.

Thanks to a study by Tim Davies, a researcher at Imperial College London, scientists are now confident these amateur images can be used to identify the whereabouts of individual whale sharks on a global scale. Utilizing pattern recognition software and photo management tools, crowd-sourced pics from sites like Flickr were successfully used to obtain IDs in 85 percent of cases. The ability to recognize and log sightings of individual whale sharks is huge because it allows scientists in, say, Australia to keep tabs on animals that appear locally for a only a few weeks a year. (Over the course of 36 months, one whale shark took a world tour of over 8,000 miles.) Checking positive IDs against other images also gives us a more accurate representation of just how many of these filter-feeding crazies are really out there. Plus, flipping through the ECOCEAN Whale Shark Photo-identification Library is like a marine biologist’s version of Facebook. (You’ve gotta see how much weight #716AC put on this winter!)

Slate - www.slate.com

12 Feb 2013

J Bittel

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Citizen science: People making a difference in their community and across the state

Everyday people from across the state are contributing their time to collect information on Michigan’s bountiful natural resources that scientists can use to increase our knowledge and understanding of the environment. Michigan Sea Grant works with numerous organizations who offer opportunities for interested people to get involved in citizen science.

One such project, the Michigan Herp Atlas Program is seeking assistance from people who observe reptiles and amphibians (collectively known as herpetofauna) in their natural habitats here in Michigan.

According to program administrator, David Mifsud, volunteer observations are critical to the success of the project. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources lists more than 60 percent of all of Michigan’s amphibians and reptiles as Species of Greatest Conservation Need. These imperiled species are important indicators to the quality of our natural resources and a critical part of healthy, functioning ecosystems.

Michigan State University - msue.anr.msu.edu

01 Feb 2013

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Raccoon rabies – Citizen-based surveillance is a success

Rabies is an important health concern for humans, domestic animals and wildlife throughout Canada. In 2006, the province of Québec launched a major initiative to eliminate raccoon rabies since its initial discovery in southern Québec. For the past six years, this program has continued its efforts of surveillance, vaccination and research, all of which rely heavily on public participation and awareness.

The provincial government of Québec recently issued a press release stating that citizen participation has greatly contributed to the success of the raccoon rabies prevention plan. Citizen reports of suspect animals increased by 18% in 2012, and visits to the program website increased by 25%.

Thanks to surveillance and vaccination of wild raccoons, skunks, and foxes, no cases of raccoon rabies were detected in Québec for the 3rd consecutive year. It remains clear that public participation is key to the continuing effectiveness of the provinces provincial rabies program.

CCWHC healthywildlife.ca blog - www.healthywildlife.ca
05 Feb 2013

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DNR requests reporting of sick or dead birds and cleaning of feeders after salmonella confirmed in southern Wisconsin

State wildlife officials are asking back yard birders to clean feeders and be on the lookout for sick or dead birds, after salmonella has been confirmed in a small number of pine siskins from Dane County. Sick goldfinches and sparrows have also been reported in Dodge and Crawford Counties.

 “We appreciate citizens reporting sick or dead birds around their feeders to the DNR so we can monitor the disease,” said Nancy Businga, wildlife health lab manager with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. “Salmonella is a bacterial disease that has the potential to spread to other areas so we also ask that people follow recommendations to help protect healthy birds that visit the feeder or bird bath.”

 Contact(s): Nancy Businga, DNR wildlife health lab manager, (608) 221-5375

Wisconsin Dept of Natural Resources - dnr.wi.gov 

10 Jan 2013

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'Citizen scientists' explain mysterious die-offs, trace oil spills back to surprising culprits

Sol Katzman and Stew Perlman are spending a sunny Saturday morning on Scott Creek Beach leaning over a rotting sea lion carcass.

The body has lost its moisture and begun to flatten into the sand. The two men manage not to grimace as they measure the pungent heap from nose to tail and tie green twine around the rear flipper to show it's been counted.

Katzman, 60, and Perlman, 64, are "citizen scientists," part of a volunteer project that collects information about beach-cast marine mammals, birds and turtles along 40 miles of Monterey Bay coastline, from Davenport to Carmel.

The BeachCOMBERS project, which turned 15 this year, has explained mysterious die-offs, exposed harmful fishing practices and traced oil spills back to surprising culprits. The project's goal is to determine how much animal mortality is normal on various beaches, enabling year-to-year comparisons.

Project Manager Hannah Nevins, a seabird biologist with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, said marine mammals and birds reflect the health of the whole environment they live in. Their population numbers mirror those of the species they eat, including forage fish such as anchovies and sardines, which are hard to count or monitor directly.

MercuryNews.com - www.mercurynews.com

03 Jan 2013

K Servick

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Citizen science can produce reliable data

Citizen science occurs when data for scientific research is collected by members of the public in a voluntary capacity. Public participation in environmental projects, in particular, has been described as a global phenomenon.

But there is a stigma associated with these types of projects. The data collected are often labelled untrustworthy and biased. Research in this area continues to show however, that data collected by what is essentially a non-professional workforce, are comparable to those collected by professional scientists.

Provided steps are in place to deal with data integrity, we have much to gain by putting more trust in citizen scientists.

Across the globe thousands of people collect data on everything from counts of stars in distant galaxies to the timing of flowering events. Volunteers have long been collecting data on the health of coral reefs, and ornithologists encourage volunteers to collect data on bird migration.

Citizen science has benefits for scientists – including an inexpensive and potentially large labour force – and citizens, who get knowledge and fulfilment. These schemes expose people to the environment and develop the stewardship ethic.

But what motivates my interest in this area is the potential to create a more scientifically literate society; building the capacity for people to take information they receive in their everyday lives and then being able to make informed choices based on the what they have learned. Those choices could be anything from the products they buy as consumers or the political parties they support.

The Conversation -  theconversation.edu.au

07 Jan 2013

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