Browsing by Subject "citizen science"
Now showing 1 - 17 of 17
- Results Per Page
- Sort Options
Item Bee Block Survey Protocols(University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Satyshur, Colleen; Forsberg, BrittItem Biosurveillance with the smokey winged beetle bandit wasp: understanding buprestid populations and volunteer outcomes in Minnesota(2019-08) Hallinen, MarieBuprestid beetles can be difficult to sample due to their cryptic nature: larvae are usually wood-boring and feed under bark or within stems, and adults exhibit maturation feeding within tree canopies. There is no long-range sex pheromone identified for this family that could be exploited for sampling. In addition, currently available traps are only intermittently successful at detecting species of interest, including the invasive emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis Fairmaire, when at low densities. One method used to sample emerald ash borer and other buprestids is biosurveillance with a native ground-nesting hunting wasp, Cerceris fumipennis Say (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae). Cerceris fumipennis hunts for a wide range of buprestids, does not sting humans, and tends to nest at easily accessible human-disturbed sites such as baseball diamonds, making it easy for non-specialists to monitor nests and collect beetles in their communities. This work utilizes C. fumipennis-collected beetles along with existing museum records to create a checklist of buprestid species in Minnesota, investigates site-level variables that may influence the number and diversity of beetles collected by C. fumipennis, and elucidates individual outcomes for citizen science volunteers who monitor nesting aggregations of C. fumipennis.Item Bumble Bee Survey Protocols(University of Minnesota Extension, 2020) Evans, Elaine; Forsberg, BrittItem Driven to Discover Citizen Science Curriculum Guide: Birding and eBird(University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Strauss, Andrea L.; Thompson, Ami; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Kooman, Michele H.; Andicoechea, Jonathan; Blair, Robert B.Item Driven to Discover Citizen Science Curriculum Guide: Dragonflies and Odonata Central(University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Thompson, Ami; Strauss, Andrea L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Kooman, Michele H.; Andicoechea, Jonathan; Blair, Robert B.Item Driven to Discover Citizen Science Curriculum Guide: Phenology and Nature's Notebook(University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Thompson, Ami; Strauss, Andrea L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Kooman, Michele H.; Montgomery, Rebecca; Andicoechea, Jonathan; Blair, Robert B.Item Driven to Discover Citizen Science Curriculum Guide: Pollinators and the Great Sunflower Project(University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Thompson, Ami; Strauss, Andrea L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Kooman, Michele H.; Evans, Elaine; Andicoechea, Jonathan; Blair, Robert B.Item Driven to Discover Facilitator's Guide to Citizen Science: Birds(University of Minnesota Extension, 2015) Strauss, Andrea L.; Homayoun, T.; Meyer, R.L.; Nippolt, P.L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Peterson, C.; Rager, Amy, A.; Young-Isebrand, E.Item Driven to Discover Facilitator's Guide to Citizen Science: Monarchs(University of Minnesota Extension, 2015) Strauss, Andrea L.; Homayoun, T.; Meyer, R.L.; Nippolt, P.L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Peterson, C.; Rager, Amy, A.; Young-Isebrand, E.Item Driven to Discover Investigator's Field Journal: Birds(University of Minnesota Extension, 2015) Strauss, Andrea L.; Homayoun, T.; Meyer, R.L.; Nippolt, P.L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Peterson, C.; Rager, Amy, A.; Young-Isebrand, E.Item Driven to Discover Investigator's Field Journal: Monarchs(University of Minnesota Extension, 2015) Strauss, Andrea L.; Homayoun, T.; Meyer, R.L.; Nippolt, P.L.; Oberhauser, Karen S.; Peterson, C.; Rager, Amy, A.; Young-Isebrand, E.Item Driven to Discover: Facilitator’s Guide to Conducting Citizen Science and Science Investigations(University of Minnesota Extension, 2019) Strauss, A.L.; Thompson, A.L.; Oberhauser, K.S.; Blair, R.B.Item Effect of sampling protocol and volunteer bias when sampling for macroinvertebrates(2008-07-08) Nerbonne, Julia, F.; Ward, Brad; Ollila, Ann; Williams, Mary; Vondracek, BruceWe evaluated the efficacy of different field sampling approaches for volunteers sampling macroinvertebrates in low-gradient streams.We used a series of analytical metrics to compare results using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) multihabitat, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency multihabitat, and EPA single-habitat sampling protocols. We also investigated the effect of 2 scenarios in which volunteers fail to follow (and potentially bias) the widely used EPA multihabitat protocol by including either more snag and vegetated banks or more run and riffle habitat than prescribed by the protocol. We collected jab samples from cobble, snags, vegetated banks, submerged macrophytes, and sand in 4 contiguous 125-m reaches in an Anoka sand-plain stream in Minnesota. We identified up to 100 macroinvertebrates in each jab sample to family. We subjected a parent population of 40 jab samples/reach to a bootstrap analysis to sample and create metric or index scores 100 times without replacement for each of the 3 volunteer sampling methods and 2 biased scenarios. The EPA multihabitat protocol and the biased scenario in which woody debris and bank vegetation were oversampled yielded the highest diversity of organisms, whereas the biased scenario in which riffle and run habitats were oversampled yielded the lowest diversity. The EPA multihabitat protocol used correctly was more likely to indicate ‘‘good’’ water quality (on the basis of the EPA muddy-bottom narrative assessment tool designed for volunteers) than either biased sampling scenario. This result illustrates that poor field methods could result in underestimation of water quality.Item Grounding a Program Theory to Enable Authentic Inquiry Through Citizen Science(University of Minnesota Extension, 2013-10) Meyer, Nathan; Nippolt, Pamela; Strauss, Andrea; Oberhauser, Karen; Blair, RobertExtension programs are well-suited to provide youth and adults with exposure to science. However, designing programs to fully engage participants in deeper experience with science practice is a complicated challenge. Grounded theory is one research approach that Extension staff can use to explicate these program models. The Driven to Discover: Enabling Student Inquiry through Citizen Science project (D2D), funded by the National Science Foundation, demonstrates potential for using grounded theory to identify factors that provoke authentic inquiry by youth-adult research teams using citizen science experiences. Through a deductive coding approach, researchers are analyzing data from project participants to build understanding of elements that worked well and challenged the citizen science research teams. Preliminary analysis has identified 14 themes that describe important design elements across categories of the setting and situation for the program, program design and structure, and team characteristics. Relationships among these themes also highlight interconnections among setting, program, and participants.Item Invasive species blitz impact analysis(University of Minnesota Extension, 2016) Wood, Christian; Gupta, AngelaBetween 2013 and 2016, the Master Naturalist Invasive Blitz advanced training program engaged participants from across Minnesota on how to identify and manage invasive species in order to address the growing threat of invasives. An impact analysis of the program was performed using data self-reported to the Minnesota Master Naturalist website by Invasive Blitz participants. These data were summarized with descriptive statistics, including totals and averages. In addition, service event data were correlated with zip codes to determine the geographic impact of the program. Results of the data analysis suggest a broad program impact. Over the course of the program, 128 students participated in eleven trainings. After taking the training, these participants engaged in 434 service events across 30 Minnesota counties, totaling 1,197 service hours and impacting an estimated 9,582 acres of land. Based on the program budget of $7,050 and the economic value of service performed by participants of $27,614.79, the cost-benefit ratio of the program was 1:4. Data are limited due to the fact that 30% of Invasive Blitz participants did not report service. Nevertheless, this analysis suggests that the program succeeded in promoting invasive species education and intervention statewide. In terms of broader application, this analysis also provides evidence of the potential impact of invasive-species-related education for natural resource professionals to reference in their own work.Item Managing Data Quality in Observational Citizen Science(2017-12) Sheppard, S.Observational citizen science is an effective way to supplement the environmental datasets compiled by professional scientists. Involving volunteers in data collection has the added educational benefits of increased scientific awareness and local ownership of environmental concerns. This thesis provides an in-depth exploration of observational citizen science and the associated challenges and opportunities for HCI research. We focus on data quality as a key lens for understanding observational citizen science, and how it differs from the related domains of crowdsourcing, open collaboration, and volunteered geographic information. In order to understand data quality, we performed a qualitative analysis of data quality assurance practices in River Watch, a regional water quality monitoring program. We found that data quality in River Watch is primarily maintained through universal adherence to standard operating procedures, rather than through a computable notion of “accuracy”. We also found that rigorous data quality assurance practices appear to enhance rather than hinder the educational goals of the program participants. In order to measure data quality, we conducted a quantitative analysis of CoCoRaHS, a multinational citizen science project for observing precipitation. Given the importance of long-term participation to data consumers, we focused on volunteer retention as our primary metric for data quality. Through survival analysis, we found that participant age is a significant predictor of retention. Compared to all other age groups, participants aged 60-70 are much more likely to sign up for CoCoRaHS, and to remain active for several years. We propose that the nature of the task can profoundly influence the types of participants attracted to a project. In order to improve data quality, we derived a general workflow model for observational citizen science, drawing on our findings in River Watch, CoCoRaHS, and similar programs. We propose a data model for preserving provenance metadata that allows for ongoing data exchange between disparate technical systems and participant skill levels. We conclude with general principles that should be taken into consideration when designing systems and protocols for managing citizen science data.Item Using Butterfly Citizen Science to Increase Participation in Conservation(2016-03) Lewandowski, EvaThe use of citizen science in the field of conservation has expanded rapidly recently; with that expansion has come a heightened awareness of the role that citizen science can play in conservation beyond providing large-scale data. Here, I explore butterfly citizen science projects in the United States and the conservation outcomes produced by butterfly citizen science volunteers. Chapter 1 explores the current state of conservation education among butterfly citizen science projects. Chapter 2 surveys volunteers from multiple projects to determine the conservation actions in which they engage, how their participation in conservation has changed over time, and the volunteer and project characteristics that are correlated with those changes. Chapter 3 addresses the potential for citizen science volunteers to create and maintain habitat as a direct component of their participation in a project, and to engage in other forms of conservation outside of a project; this chapter also compares the conservation actions of citizen scientists to those of habitat conservation volunteers. Finally, Chapter 4 applies the findings of the first three chapters to an evaluation of the conservation education programming of the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project. Taken together, the results of this work clearly indicate that 1) butterfly citizen science projects are using a number of different methods to inform their volunteers about conservation and encourage their participation in conservation actions, 2) citizen science volunteers are actively participating in habitat conservation and conservation outreach, and 3) volunteers’ participation in conservation increases after joining a citizen science project. Throughout the dissertation chapters, I provide recommendations to project managers for promoting conservation actions among volunteers.