CITIZEN SCIENTISTS Citizen science is a way for everyday people to collect data and share it with researchers who use it to gain a better understanding of the world Amateur scientists have been contributing to different fields for centuries but the term citizen scientist is still fairly new Today’s citizen science movement came about as a way to move science out of labs and back into the real world Citizen science gets people to care about science by encouraging people to better understand the natural world starting with the world right outside their window Some investigations require small groups Others can be done alone How to Use This Book The projects in this book are meant to inspire you to get into citizen science Websites for all the projects are listed on page 30 You can also find many other projects online that are suitable for young citizen scientists 4
Projects for everyone Part of the fun of citizen science is that anyone can get involved No matter your age or where you live you can be a citizen scientist And no matter what part of the natural world you’re interested in you can find a project to get excited about Just a few of the fields that use data collected by citizen scientists include ornithology the study of birds entomology the study of insects meteorology the study of weather and astronomy the study of celestial objects such as planets and stars There might be a project that’s specifically about the area you live in or one that’s about a particular season Some can even be done right in your own backyard or at school Whatever projects interest you the most you can be sure that your contributions can help real scientists make important discoveries about the world People of all ages volunteer together as citizen scientists online resources There are a number of online resources for budding citizen scientists One of the best is SciStarter Most of the projects mentioned in this book can be found on SciStarter The site also has a useful search function so if you have a topic you’re interested in you can just type it in and see if there are any current projects related to it Scientific American also has a great list of current projects that can be grouped by age level The Citizen Science Center produces a newsletter with updates about new citizen science projects that you can subscribe to at its website Citizen science is a great way to learn about the world around you and help science move forward at the same time Whatever you’re interested in there’s a project out there right now with your name on it Today’s technology makes collecting and sharing data easier 5
CHANGING ECOSYSTEMS Human beings have always had an effect on their environment However in the last 50 years scientists have noted that these changes have been increasing Human actions such as burning fossil fuels can affect ecosystems in dramatic ways For example rising temperatures are causing many species in North America to move their habitats farther north or to higher areas where it’s cooler The use of pesticides on farms and gardens can kill off species such as bees which play an important role in helping plants reproduce This is an area in which citizen scientists can be a huge help These changes are so broad that it’s impossible for any single group of scientists to track them However by enlisting the help of citizen scientists in every part of the world they can gather data that they otherwise wouldn’t have the resources to collect Here are just a few things citizen scientists are helping researchers learn about today Some citizen scientists help by sharing information at school and community events Pollinators Pollinators are animals that spread pollen from one part of a plant to another which makes the plant able to grow seeds Without pollinators plants cannot reproduce and spread The most famous pollinators are bees but other species such as ants hummingbirds and bats often perform the same function Bee populations have recently been in decline Citizen scientists are helping to track and count these populations to get a better understanding of their numbers 6
froGs anD WetlanDs Wetlands such as swamps and marshes are important ecosystems They perform many key functions including purifying water controlling flooding and removing carbon dioxide from the air One way scientists track how well wetlands are doing is through frog populations If there are plenty of frogs the ecosystem is healthy However if frog populations are low or are noticeably decreasing it might mean that the wetland is in trouble Citizen scientists play an important role in helping to track these numbers BirD MiGrations Many species of birds do not live in the same place year-round Starting in the fall as the days turn cooler these birds leave their breeding grounds in more northern parts of the world and fly south for the winter Citizen scientists help by cataloging exactly when these species begin migrating how large their flocks are and if they’re landing in places they weren’t before These efforts can help scientists figure out how changing ecosystems are affecting bird populations and their lifestyles introDuceD sPecies Sometimes human beings introduce species into areas where they do not usually live This was the case with the multicolored Asian ladybug shown on the left which was introduced into North America by the U S government in an attempt to control aphid populations Some citizen science projects focus on how and where introduced species spread in their new area and how their populations grow or decline Where Do they Go For decades one of the greatest mysteries in natural science was Where do monarch butterflies spend their winters Dr Fred Urquhart of Canada was fascinated by this question He and his wife Norah experimented with different ways to track the butterflies However they soon realized they would need help This led to a call for volunteers to help track monarch migration routes starting in 1952 Thousands of volunteers answered the call By 1975 they helped discover the butterfly’s winter habitat in Mexico This was one of the earliest and most successful citizen science projects Along with tracking monarch butterflies citizen volunteers are growing more milkweed for monarch caterpillars to eat 7
