August 13, 2007
All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
The All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) for Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an attempt to catalog all of the species found within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Scientists and volunteers are collaborating and expect to find over 100,000 species, and have even discovered hundreds of species new to science (mostly insects and other tiny critters):
As of October 2006, 4,666 species new to the Park and an additional 651 species new to science have been discovered. Many of the species Smokies’ ATBI is discovering are small in size, and some are quite novel and obscure, but they all have roles in the natural ecosystem. The ATBI provides the information that allows the most enlightened stewardship of the national park; furthers scientific frontiers, and accomplishes this using citizen involvement, thereby providing quality educational experiences for everybody involved.
Their page with links on methods of inventory and collection looks like a very useful resource for any amateur naturalist.
The project is coordinated by Discover Life in America, a non-profit organization.
Posted by terrie at 06:10 AM | Comments (0)
July 08, 2007
Great Lakes Worm Watch
Did you know that earthworms are not native to the Great Lakes region?
Glaciers left the area worm-free over 10,000 years ago, and the worms found there now are mostly exotics native to Europe, brought by settlers. AND these exotics have a dramatice impact on forest ecology.
Great Lakes Worm Watch works to increase our understanding of the role of exotic species in ecosystems change, and provides information and a directory of citizen science programs related to worm ecology. Great Lakes Worm Watch offers resources for joining the research by doing your own habitat studies.
The web site is full of fascinating information about studying earthworms. (If I'd known about that mustard water trick as a kid, we could have saved a lot of time spent walking around in the rain at night with flashlights before a fishing trip!)
Cindy Hale, Founder of Great Lakes Worm Watch, also has a great book to guide your studies of these interesting creatures: Earthworms of the Great Lakes
Posted by terrie at 06:57 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2007
World Water Monitoring Day
The folks behind World Water Monitoring Day want to be sure you save the date for this year's events:
In honor of World Water Day, the Water Environment Federation and the International Water Association would like to remind you to save the date of September 18, 2007 for the next World Water Monitoring Day!World Water Monitoring Day is an international program that builds public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources worldwide. On September 18, 2007, communities around the world will monitor the condition of their local rivers, streams, estuaries and other water bodies.
In 2006, over 3,900 sites were monitored in 39 countries. Don’t miss your chance to participate in this global water awareness event!
For information on how to partici pate, please visit www.wef.org or www.WorldWaterMonitoringDay.org
The goal of the World Water Monitoring day is to build public awareness and involvement in protecting water resources around the world. Local citizen science efforts to report on conditions of area watersheds might be among the most important projects you could participate in, and you might even have to become your own expert in the ecology of your area.
Posted by terrie at 05:12 AM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2004
More on World Water Monitoring Day
I wrote to the WWMD folks about the issues I encountered when trying to use the kit to do some testing of the local laguna. I got a really nice reply back from Ed Moyer, the World Water Monitoring Day Coordinator for America's Clean Water Foundation, on October 13. He replied that there was a problem with the form on the web site, and that they've fixed that up (I confirmed this and was able to enter my initial set of data).
Here's part of his response also about the data being collected (I've a link where relevant):
You are correct that there are many quality monitoring efforts that have been underway for many years. World Water Monitoring Day is an attempt to bring a national and international focus to water monitoring and attempt to educate folks who have never been associated with a group that does more sophisticated monitoring. It is our hope that WWMD will pique their interest and they will seek out more information.
As such we do offer other links of interest under our "Resources" tab and also link to many of our partners, such as EPA and USGS. These sites do offer more in-depth opportunities.
With the number of novice volunteers we encourage and knowing that one testing sample in the year really isn't sufficient, we recognize that WWMD data should never be accepted as "hard science". Yet, as a growing opportunity to increase awareness about water monitoring throughout the world, we are proud of what we have accomplished since 2002.
As of now 1553 sites have already been registered and we have another 1900 sites expected to be reported in batch form after October 18. As of today, we have 40 nations participating and sites registered in all 50 states.
Thanks to Ed for the detailed response!
I'm hoping to learn more about some of the more in-depth local water monitoring efforts in the future. If you're involved with a group near you, I'd love to hear more about what you do!
Posted by terrie at 07:31 AM | Comments (0)
September 27, 2004
Using the World Water Montioring Day kit to test water quality
In a previous post I briefly described World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD), a national water quality testing project. The project seems to be primarily focused towards testing conducted by kids as part of a school project, but anyone can order a rudimentary test kit for $19.95 and enter data collected between now and October 18.
I ordered a kit and did my first monitoring yesterday. Here's how it went.
The World Water Monitoring Day kit from Lamotte. Contents, clockwise from upper right: cannister (for sampling and storage of the rest of the kit), pH tablets, dissolved oxygen test tablets, small sample tubue, 10 ml test tube, thermometers (self-stick, to apply to the cannister), Secchi disk icon (self-stick, to apply to the bottom of the cannister), and a chart to read results.
Taking the sample (in this case, aided by a very handy E-Z Reacher). The sample is actually taken a little deeper, at least 4 inches under the surface. The cannister is held under water for at least a minute.
The temperature is read via the self-stick thermometers on the outside of the cannister.
The dissolved oxygen test is prepared in the small tube. The pH test is prepared in the longer 10ml test tube. There is a short waiting period for both; during this time, the Turbidity measurement can be taken. Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of the water. This is done by comparing the test chart to the view of the Secchi disk icon sticker at the bottom of the cannister. The laguna water today was very turbid; this might e the result of soil erosion, urban runoff, algal blooms, or bottom sediment disturbances.
Here's where everything fell apart for me: the pH test. I read these results as a "10", which would be "very basic". This seemed odd while I was at the test site. When I returned home and tried to enter this value, the WWMD web site informed me that I had to enter a value between 6 and 8. Since this is a required field, I can't enter any of my data at all (unless I fake the pH data). This doesn't give me a lot of confidence in the system; if others have this problem, I'm guessing that they'll enter any value that works here simply to go on with the data entry.
I'm guessing that my pH test results are in fact wrong; I'm not sure if they're wrong because of a mistake I made in the collecting, or a problem with the test tablets. I tried testing our tap water using the same method, and that came out to be a more reasonable 7 or 8, which seems to indicate that the entire lot of pH tablets probably isn't defective. I have difficulty believing that the pH leve of the laguna is that far off center, because there were lots of little fish and creatures visible in the sampling area.
The Dissolved Oxygen test measures how much oxygen is available in the water. Healthy and stable natural waters usually have high levels of dissolved oxygen. The test results here are combined with the current temperature to determine the saturation, which in this case was 91%.
As I mentioned, I was unable to complete my data entry at the WWMD web site, because the form wouldn't accept my pH value nor let me enter the other results without it. I wasn't able to find additional information on the site about what to do in this situation.
My first foray into water monitoring has resulted in more questions than answers. The manual for the kit warns several times that the tests are not particularly precise, which I can accept, but I'd like more information abou what tools are recommended for higher-level testing. I wonder if the data collected from these rudimentary kits is actually usable by scientists? I also have many questions about how to intelligently interpret the data after collecting it several times, so I'd appreciate recommendations on further reading on the topic. (I'm sending a link to this post to the folks at WWMD in case they can help with any of these questions.)
In any case, I intend to do some more testing throughout the month to see if the results vary overtime. I'll need to educate myself on some of these topics for sure, because people walking by as I was taking samples were very interested in what I was doing and asked lots of questions (I'll probably make a couple copies of the WWMD brochure to take with me next time just so they don't think I'm a total crackpot).
Although I was hoping to find a nationally-based data collection program, I should mention that there are a lot of other water monitoring groups out there, and many of them do very precise data collection. A good starting point for more information on these groups is the EPA volunteer monitoring page. I hope to post additional information about some of these efforts (and maybe even participate in some) in the coming months.
Posted by terrie at 07:01 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
September 16, 2004
The Great Annual Fish Count and REEF
One of the great things about citizen science projects is that you can often get free training. The Great Annual Fish Count offers free seminars where divers and snorkelers can learn how to identify and count fish.
The Great Annual Fish Count is used by the REEF Fish Survey Project to publicize its ongoing need for data collection. In this project, divers use an underwater slate and a scantron form from REEF to note species and abundance of fish and sea turtles. Several environmental measurements are also noted (water temperature, depth, location, etc.). The scan sheets are then returned to REEF. For a nice visual overview of the project, check out this instructional video on surveying (QuickTime) from REEF.
REEF "was founded in 1990, out of growing concern about the health of the marine environment, and the desire to provide the SCUBA diving community a way to contribute to the understanding and protection of marine populations."
Posted by terrie at 06:43 AM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2004
World Water Monitoring Day
World Water Monitoring Day introduces people to the fundamentals of water quality testing and provides a collection of data about the health of watersheds over time. Volunteers monitor temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen (DO) during a one-month period each fall. The project managed by America's Clean Water Foundation (ACWF) and the International Water Association (IWA).
You can order water monitoring kits from their web site for $19.95 (includes shipping) and register the stie you intend to monitor. Monitoring this year will take place from September 18 thru October 18, so you need to order your kit now to participate this year. I just received mine and intend to monitor a nearby wetlands.
There are also many interesting locally-based water monitoring projects that you can participate in. The Surfrider Foundation's Blue Water Task Force does more in-depth monitoring and advocacy. You can find other local groups through the EPA's Volunteer Monitoring site.
Posted by terrie at 06:23 AM | Comments (0)
PlantWatch
PlantWatch is a Canadian project hosted by the Canadian Nature Federation and Environment Canada's Ecological Monitoring and Assessment Network Coordinating Office.
PlantWatch is a phenology project where participants monitor flowering plants and report when they flower (phenology). Data is added instantly to web maps showing bloom times across Canada. Some plants are blooming almost a month earlier than they did a century ago, which may indicate global warming or other climatic changes.
Posted by terrie at 06:19 AM | Comments (0)
September 09, 2004
FrogWatch
Amphibians are very sensitive to changes in their environments because of their porous skin, thieir need for both water and land, and their vulnerability to predators. Their population recent declines raise serious concerns about pollution, habitat destruction, and global climate changes. In the FrogWatch project, organized by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with the United States Geological Survey, volunteers learn to identify frogs and toads based on their calls, monitor an area near their homes, and report their findings at the FrogWatch web site.
Posted by terrie at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)