Citizen Science An Introduction February 2016

What is Citizen Science? AKA crowd science, crowd- sourced science, civic monitoring, volunteer monitoring, networked science, participatory monitoring/research Scientific research conducted, in whole or in part, by amateur or nonprofessional scientists Photo credit: Brian F Powell

Jefferson Powell Thoreau Early citizen scientists

History of Citizen Science Known by other names throughout history Term first entered into Oxford English dictionary in 2014 Great increase in programs in the 1990s Photo: Albert Herring, Wikimedia commons

Dramatic growth between 1997 to 2014 in publications featuring citizen science Follet and Strezov, PLOS ONE Prevalence of citizen science data

The usefulness of citizen science data North American Breeding Bird Survey data have contributed to over 500 peer-reviewed publications Christmas Bird Count, celebrated annually since 1900, is not only one of the largest, longest-running citizen science programs, it is one of the largest ecological datasets available Cloned lilac project alone has yielded 58 peer-reviewed publications

Value of citizen science data Volunteers contribute ~$2.5B annually to biodiversity research

Scientific value often underestimated Evaluated review of 10 claims of impacts of climate change on avian migration No reference to “citizen science” found in publications, although citizen science contributed to 24-77% of references Significance of citizen science to research greater than perceived “Quality of data collected by volunteers, on a project-by-project basis, has generally been found as reliable as the data collected by professionals"

2012. Primack, R. B, Miller-Rushing, A.J 7 day average 61 years 2-3 week average Bradley, N.L., Leopold, C.A., Ross, J., Huffacker, W. Sandhill crane and geese

Benefits for the Refuge: Core information needs for research and monitoring Facilitate large-scale, geographically diverse projects Build trust in science Foster public involvement in environmental decision making Encourage collaboration “Good citizen science gets us fine grain, broad extent data we can't collect, or afford to collect, any other way,” - author Julia Parrish

Contribute to an effort that makes a difference Learn a new skill (or keep up an old one) Participate in public decision making Create community Be outside (or be inside!) Benefits for the citizen scientist: “Hands-on involvement in a real research question makes science tangible and lends participants a sense of personal connection to our natural resources” – author Heidi Ballard Photo credit: Brian F Powell

Citizen science and FWS 2013, Obama administration pledged to make the federal government adopt this collaborative approach September 2015, White House Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Webcast Forum –Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Act of 2015 –Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Toolkit

Toolkits for citizen science programs

Citizen science a priority for FWS’s Environment Education Forthcoming FWS toolkit will step down from Federal Citizen Science Toolkit FWS version will keep in mind the FWS mission, NCTC and other training resources, available databases, etc that are specific to FWS Citizen science and FWS “Inviting the public to learn more about wildlife conservation and participate in programs, such as citizen science, schoolyard and backyard habitats, helps them become better land stewards wherever they reside.”

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