Evidence suggests that the involvement of local people in conservation work increases a project's chances of success. Involving citizen scientists in research, however, raises questions about data quality. As a tool to better assess potential participants for conservation projects, we developed a knowledge gradient, K, along which community members occupy different positions on the basis of their experience with and knowledge of a research subject. This gradient can be used to refine the citizen-science concept and allow researchers to differentiate between community members with expert knowledge and those with little knowledge. We propose that work would benefit from the inclusion of select local experts because it would allow researchers to harness the benefits of local involvement while maintaining or improving data quality. We used a case study from the DeHoop Nature Preserve, South Africa, in which we conducted multiple interviews, identified and employed a local expert animal tracker, evaluated the expert's knowledge, and analyzed the data collected by the expert. The expert animal tracker J.J. created his own sampling design and gathered data on mammals. He patrolled 4653 km in 214 days and recorded 4684 mammals. He worked from a central location, and his patrols formed overlapping loops; however, his data proved neither spatially nor temporally autocorrelated. The distinctive data collected by J.J. are consistent with the notion that involving local experts can produce reliable data. We developed a conceptual model to help identify the appropriate participants for a given project on the basis of research budget, knowledge or skills needed, technical literacy requirements, and scope of the project.

Spring-run Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) are particularly vulnerable to climate change because adults oversummer in freshwater streams before spawning in autumn. We examined streamflow and water temperature regimes that could lead to long-term reductions in spring-run Chinook salmon (SRCS) in a California stream and evaluated management adaptations to ameliorate these impacts. Bias-corrected and spatially downscaled climate data from six general circulation models and two emission scenarios for the period 2010-2099 were used as input to two linked models: a water evaluation and planning (WEAP) model to simulate weekly mean streamflow and water temperature in Butte Creek, California that were used as input to SALMOD, a spatially explicit and size/stage structured model of salmon population dynamics in freshwater systems. For all climate scenarios and model combinations, WEAP yielded lower summer base flows and higher water temperatures relative to historical conditions, while SALMOD yielded increased adult summer thermal mortality and population declines. Of management adaptations tested, only ceasing water diversion for power production from the summer holding reach resulted in cooler water temperatures, more adults surviving to spawn, and extended population survival time, albeit with a significant loss of power production. The most important conclusion of this work is that long-term survival of SRCS in Butte Creek is unlikely in the face of climate change and that simple changes to water operations are not likely to dramatically change vulnerability to extinction.

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The presence of phytoplankton, like other particulate organic matter, can interfere with the effects of hydrophobic contaminants such as pyrethroid pesticides. However, the reduction or elimination of toxicity by algae added as food during testing is not taken into account in standard US EPA whole effluent toxicity (WET) zooplankton tests. On the other hand, WET test conditions may overestimate toxicity of such compounds in highly productive surface waters with high concentrations of detritus and other particulate matter. In addition, WET tests do not measure impaired swimming ability or predator avoidance behavior as an indicator of increased mortality risk. This study used a modified version of the US EPA WET Ceriodaphnia dubia acute test to investigate the effects of phytoplankton on toxicity of the pyrethroid insecticide, esfenvalerate. Animals were exposed simultaneously to different concentrations of esfenvalerate and green algae (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata). Mortality and predation risk were recorded after 4 and 24 h. Algae at or below concentrations specified in the WET protocol significantly reduced mortality. Regardless, organisms exposed to esfenvalerate were unable to avoid simulated predation in the presence of algae at any concentration. After 12 h, esfenvalerate adsorbed to algae represented 68-99 % of the total amount recovered. The proportion of algae-bound insecticide increased with algal concentration indicating that conclusions drawn from toxicity tests in which algae are added as food must be interpreted with caution as the dissolved fraction of such hydrophobic contaminants is reduced. Additionally, our results strongly suggest that the EPA should consider adding ecologically-relevant endpoints such as swimming behavior to standard WET protocols.