Ever wanted to be a marine biologist?

"Citizen Scientist" is one of the hottest buzzwords these days, reflecting a new trend toward involving citizens in real data collection efforts.  Budget cuts have forced organizations and agencies to think outside the box for gathering data, and many are creating training programs for citizen volunteers in a wide variety of scientific fields. 

There are many aspects of data collection that do not require advanced degrees in science, and give the public an opportunity to spend time in nature while contributing to knowledge.  In return, trained citizens become the first eyes and ears to notice and report when something is amiss.  By far the biggest benefit of training citizens to monitor lakes, streams, oceans, forests, and wildlife is that they are on the front line advocating for their community ecosystems. 

Sometimes the message is much more effective when it comes from a neighbor.

Here is a sampling of the plethora of ways that you can get involved in biodiversity monitoring with kids, starting with marine biology:

Sea Turtles!  If you live near a coast, chances are you can volunteer to monitor egg laying and hatching activity of sea turtles.  Here just a few of the many I ran across, including Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama.  Even if you are land-locked, you can volunteer to spend a week in the summer at the Wassaw National Wildlife Refuge.  And can you say Costa Rica?

Diving and snorkeling for the REEF survey project, where you can collect and report data on fishes, seaweeds, and other critters along the west coast of the US.  They have an online store with all of the gear and picture guides you need to get started.

Phytoplankton monitoring project hosted by NOAA across the US coasts and the great lakes.  The goal of the project is to gain more information on harmful algal blooms (or HABs).  Most microscopic phytoplankton are harmless, but there are a few species that bloom or produce toxins that are very dangerous to fish, birds, and marine mammals.  I know what you're thinking.  YES!  You get to use a microscope.  And there's an app.

Speaking of marine mammals, if you ever find yourself in Alaska you can combine the best of both worlds - a cruise and the chance to collect data on marine wildlife, including humpback whales!  Take a jacket.

If getting wet is not your thing, check out WhaleFM, an innovative new way to engage citizens in research.  Put on your listening ears, and help researchers classify whale sounds to increase our understanding of whale communication (another plug here).  Along the same lines, there's also Digital Fishers, developed by NEPTUNE Canada, where you analyze 15 second snippets of video taken from the deep sea.  Designed like a game, the 'player' answers questions about the scene, and can advance through levels that get more complex with more experience.

Birds!  The king of citizen science for birds is Cornell University Lab of Ornithology.  There are several options for volunteering, including eBird (for the serious birders), Project FeederWatch, PigeonWatch, and the Great Backyard Bird Count (from the comfort of your own home). 

Flutterbys.  Most people would be surprised to hear that butterfly populations have taken a hit from habitat loss.  Monarch Watch is asking volunteers to create 'monarch waystations' in backyards, parks, schoolyards, and vacant lots.  A waystation is a monarch habitat planted with their favorite delicacy, milkweed.  They can get you started with a seed kit designed for your region of the country.  Or, if you fancy yourself an amateur lepidopterist, or have keen photographic skills, consider volunteering for BAMONA and submit butterfly and moth sightings to their online database.

Who doesn't love ladybugs?  You can volunteer to monitor native ladybug populations that are at risk because of the relative success of ladybugs that were intentionally brought here from other continents.  Enter the Lost Ladybug Project, which has a wealth of fun and resources for their citizen scientists, including the Lost Ladybug Song.

Another group of insects where native species are battling introduced ones are ants.  School of Ants is an easy way to collect data on ant populations, and they offer instructions on making your own simple ant collecting kit with index cards, ziploc baggies, and cookies!   

Benthic macroinvertebrates, loosely translated, are spineless, bottom-dwelling creatures that can be seen with the naked eye.  If you have ever looked under a rock in a stream, you can catch sight of small crustaceans, immature insects, snails, and clams.  Some of them are very sensitive to pollution, and others can handle it, so they are good indicators of water quality.  Many states have Stream Teams, and the like, where citizens are trained to collect and identify benthic macroinvertebrates.

World's tiniest frog - a new record

About the size of a Tic Tac, these miniaturized frogs were discovered in the forests of southeastern Papua New Guinea.  One of the two new species of frogs was given the scientific name Paedophryne dekot.  The species name 'dekot' is the word for "very small" in Daga, the native language. (photo credit: Kraus, 2011)

  

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Wolves changing Yellowstone

Biologists call it a "trophic cascade".  Wolves, a top predator, were re-introduced into Yellowstone National Park in the mid-90's and we are now seeing reverberations all the way down the food chain.

Here's how it works.  Because the wolves prey on elk, the elk population has dropped from nearly 20,000 in 1994 to about 6,100 in 2010.

Because elk have a taste for aspen, willow, and other trees, their populations have shot up.  Here are two photos showing the change in the aspen population in just the last five years and the aspen saplings that would never have survived grazing by a massive population of elk. (Photo credit: Ripple and Beschta, 2011)

And there's more.  The beaver populations benefit from more willows.  The streams will benefit from more beavers.  The songbirds benefit from more aspens.  The bison poplations are increasing because they don't have to compete with a massive population of elk anymore...you get the idea.

We are getting a first glimse of historical Yellowstone.  All this from less than 100 wolves.   Phenomenal.

(Source; pdf)

Live action wildlife cams

Screen time with biodiversity:

Butterfly cam - American Museum of Natural History

Naked mole-ratcam - Smithsonian National Zoo

Penguin cam - California Academy of Sciences

Rainforest cam - Brazil

Sea Otter cam - Monterey Bay Aquarium

Leafcutter ant cam - Natural History Museum, London

Polar bear cam - San Diego Zoo

Biodiversity posters for a kid's room

Found some amazing posters that would look great on a wall in the kid's room (or for your living room for that matter!)

Connecting all of the dots

Green living usually means two things: either you are trying to save the "environment", or you are trying to protect your health. Many times an action does both, sometimes not. But, almost always, they both protect biodiversity.
Think that new vinyl smell is bad for your health? Probably not so good for other vertebrates either.

...(L)aboratory studies indicate phthalates cause a broad range of birth defects and reproductive impairments in animals exposed in utero and shortly after birth (e.g. Marsman 1995; Wine 1997; Ema 1998; Mylchreest 1998, 1999, 2000; Gray 1999; CERHR 2000). Phthalate exposures damage the testes, prostate gland, epididymis, penis, and seminal vesicles in laboratory animals (e.g. Mylchreest 1998); most of these effects persist throughout the animal's life. Phthalates have also been shown to bioaccumulate in fish tissue and to affect estrogen levels in fish (Jobling 1995).

Prefer organic food for your kids? Also better for nearby birds and other wildlife.

It is estimated that of the roughly 672 million birds exposed annually to pesticides on U.S. agricultural lands, 10%– or 67 million– are killed. This staggering number is a conservative estimate that takes into account only birds that inhabit farmlands, and only birds killed outright by ingestion of pesticides. The full extent of bird fatalities due to pesticides is extremely difficult to determine because most deaths go undetected.

Giving up number 7 plastic? The amphibians will thank you.

A new study reveals that by interfering with thyroid hormone, exposure to low levels of bisphenol A (BPA) slows the rate at which tadpoles develop into frogs. Thyroid signals are necessary both for normal frog metamorphosis and for human development. In these experiments, exposure levels similar to those found in human infants kept certain genes from turning on, thus delaying tadpole development.

Facebook chat among charismatic megafauna