Citizen Science
In pursuing our mission to promote a constructive role for science in decision-making OST interprets the term “science” quite broadly. We recognize that there are many kinds of knowledge—such as academic science and traditional knowledge among others—that can support ocean policy and management. One increasingly promising knowledge source is citizen science.
From distributed groups of volunteers organized by academic scientists, to local community leaders engaging resource users, there is a diversity of approaches to engaging citizens in science. OST is actively exploring this space, looking for ways to promote mutually beneficial relationships between producers and users of citizen science, data and knowledge.
Projects:
MPA Watch
MPA Watch is a citizen science initiative to monitor human use of coastal natural resources by training and supporting volunteers in the collection of relevant, scientifically rigorous, and broadly accessible data. MPA Watch programs all take a similar approach to measuring human use of ocean resources, but there are also some important differences across programs as a result of program size, total area covered, variation in regional characteristics or specific questions that are of interest to individual programs.
OST is collaborating with MPA Watch programs to enhance and expand the benefits of these activities by addressing methodological differences, and where possible, aligning program implementation. Together we are developing best practices, guidelines, and protocols that can serve as an ‘MPA Watch manual’ and be implemented by current and future locally-organized MPA Watch programs.
The California Citizen Science Initiative
There is great potential for MPA monitoring efforts to benefit from engagement with citizen science programs through increased cost-effectiveness, enhanced partnerships with stakeholders and increased awareness of MPAs. In turn, citizen science programs might benefit from a relationship with local managers and decision-makers to bring additional relevance and credibility to their efforts. However, while there are a few good examples, we need to learn more about how to most effectively engage citizen science programs in monitoring and decision-making.
Using the California Central Coast region as a focal area, OST is undertaking a collaborative research and engagement project to explore different models for linking citizen science with monitoring for adaptive management. The objectives of this project are to:
- investigate and articulate the potential values and benefits offered by citizen science programs for effective long-term MPA monitoring and management;
- evaluate existing and developing organizational models of citizen science to understand the role that their structure, organization and current methods of policy-engagement have played in their relative success to date;
- estimate the costs of obtaining useful knowledge from a citizen network and to use this information to identify models of citizen science that may effectively contribute to MPA monitoring in California;
- initiate mutually beneficial partnerships that engage a growing community of citizen science groups as key participants in ongoing MPA monitoring in California’s Central Coast region; and
- engage the broader community of citizen science researchers and practitioners to draw on emerging best practices both nationally and internationally and to share lessons learned from the California MPA experience.
We will be tracking our progress through a blog that invites discussion about these issues, and presents our findings along the way.
For additional information contact Ryan Meyer, Senior Scientist
