Making marine and coastal citizen science matter

Cigliano, John A.; Meyer, Ryan; Ballard, Heidi L.; Freitag, Amy; Phillips, Tina; Wasser, Ann

doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2015.06.012

Cited by 160 publications

(130 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Physically gathering people together encourages people to attend talks and other sessions that may seem to be outside an individual's field or interests. One paper in the IMCC3 proceedings, for instance, is an output of a symposiums and focus groups at the conference orientated toward the creation of multidisciplinary toolkits to guide citizen science (Cigliano et al, 2015b). The toolkits are meaningful outputs that foster the opening of more citizen science projects in more disciplines and regions.…”

Section: Individual Benefits Of In-person Attendance At Conferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Combining resources and experiences can not only further specific research efforts, but also science in general. Examples of such fruitful collaborations from IMCCs include Parsons et al (2014), Cigliano et al (2015b), Hind et al (2015), and Cigliano et al (2016). Emails are not always effective for starting collaborations, and researching potential universities for partnerships takes time.…”

Section: Group and Institutional Benefits Of In-person Attendance At mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why Conferences Matter—An Illustration from the International Marine Conservation Congress

et al. 2017

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A major activity in the life of an academic is the professional conference. It is common knowledge that this is a place to present your research, but what about other benefits of attending a conference? Online surveys were distributed to delegates of the 3rd and 4th International Marine Conservation Congresses (IMCCs), with respondents' (n = 100) feedback including that the congresses provided useful new information that will aid: (1) their research (58%); (2) in-the-field conservation (29%); (3) conservation communication (46%); and (4) conservation and management policy making (45%). They also reported gaining new techniques (56%), skills (64%), and novel ideas (70%) to further their research/careers. Nearly all (91%) gained new contacts that improved their research, in-the-field conservation, science communication, and/or conservation policy making. Two thirds (64%) gained ideas, contacts, and/or lessons could lead to publications. Over a third (39%) gained new ideas, contacts and/or lessons that led to grant proposals, and 36% gained contacts that led to funding. A conference is not just an avenue for a scientist to present their research to the wider community, but it can be an important venue for brainstorming, networking and making vital connections that can lead to new initiatives, papers and funding, in a way that virtual, online meetings cannot. This is why conferences matter.

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Section: Individual Benefits Of In-person Attendance At Conferencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Group and Institutional Benefits Of In-person Attendance At mentioning

confidence: 99%

Why Conferences Matter—An Illustration from the International Marine Conservation Congress

et al. 2017

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“…Wider participation of citizens reporting sightings of key species has increased the size, geographical distribution, and analytical power of datasets used to address complex large-scale issues (e.g., Butcher and Niven 2007, McClellan et al 2014, Theobald et al 2015. Specific conservation outcomes are also targeted by CBM, whereby citizen scientists can provide and enhance the sustainability of long-term data collection and address specific management needs (Cigliano et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Marine initiatives are proportionally underrepresented (Roy et al 2012, Theobald et al 2015, likely due to the difficulty and expense of project implementation. Limiting factors can include the cost of the equipment required, boat hire, safety and liability, or unclear access and resource rights (Roy et al 2012, Cigliano et al 2015. Due to these limitations, marine citizen science has predominated in high-income countries or popular SCUBA diving destinations (Pattengill-Semmens and Semmens 2003, Goffredo et al 2004, Ward-Paige et al 2010.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marine Conservation Outcomes are More Likely when Fishers Participate as Citizen Scientists: Case Studies from the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef

Fulton

Caamal-Madrigal

Aguilar‐Perera

et al. 2018

CSTP

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Small-scale fishers on Caribbean coral reefs have exploited fish spawning aggregations (FSAs) for generations, but intense fishing has led to the loss of traditional aggregation sites. In many areas, the traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) of fishers has contributed greatly to the characterization of spawning aggregations and implementation of local conservation initiatives. TEK has identified more than 40 potential FSA sites along the coast of the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef. These sites have been characterised and scientifically validated, in some cases with traditional western science and in others, with a participatory citizen-science approach. The objective of this work is to compare the science and conservation outcomes at these FSA sites. We report that those FSA sites where scientific surveys were conducted without community participation remain unprotected. By contrast, the FSAs where local fishers were engaged in characterization and subsequent monitoring are now protected at the behest of the fishers themselves. Conservation initiatives to protect FSAs can be more effective through a combination of TEK, western science, and participatory citizen science involving local fishers.

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“…It has been found to: successfully tackle difficult, expensive, and laborious fieldwork (Dickinson et al, 2012;Schwartz et al, 2012;Gura, 2013); promote public understanding of science (Trumbull et al, 2000;Brossard et al, 2005;Wiggins and Crowston, 2011;Schläppy et al, 2017); and contribute to marine policy (Hyder et al, 2015). Considering the high cost of traditional aquatic sampling (e.g., ship or boat hire), citizen science has much untapped potential in limnology and oceanography (Lauro et al, 2014;Cigliano et al, 2015;Busch et al, 2016b;Garcia-Soto et al, 2017;Hyder et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Expanding Aquatic Observations through Recreation

et al. 2017

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Accurate observations of the Earth system are required to understand how our planet is changing and to help manage its resources. The aquatic environment-including lakes, rivers, wetlands, estuaries, coastal and open oceans-is a fundamental component of the Earth system controlling key physical, biological, and chemical processes that allow life to flourish. Yet, this environment is critically undersampled in both time and space. New and cost-effective sampling solutions are urgently needed. Here, we highlight the potential to improve aquatic sampling by tapping into recreation. We draw attention to the vast number of participants that engage in aquatic recreational activities and argue, based on current technological developments and recent research, that the time is right to employ recreational citizens to improve large-scale aquatic sampling efforts. We discuss the challenges that need to be addressed for this strategy to be successful (e.g., sensor integration, data quality, and citizen motivation), the steps needed to realize its potential, and additional societal benefits that arise when engaging citizens in scientific sampling.

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Making marine and coastal citizen science matter

Cited by 160 publications

References 51 publications

Why Conferences Matter—An Illustration from the International Marine Conservation Congress

Why Conferences Matter—An Illustration from the International Marine Conservation Congress

Marine Conservation Outcomes are More Likely when Fishers Participate as Citizen Scientists: Case Studies from the Mexican Mesoamerican Reef

Expanding Aquatic Observations through Recreation

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