Skip to content

Southern Fried Science

Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS

Adventures with Citizen Science: perspectives of a shark biologist

Posted on July 24, 2010December 31, 2011 By David Shiffman 1 Comment on Adventures with Citizen Science: perspectives of a shark biologist
Conservation, Science

ResearchBlogging.org

Those of you who follow me on Twitter or are friends with me on facebook may have seen that last month, I asked for volunteers to come catch and tag sharks with me here in Charleston. While I was pleased by how excited respondents were for this opportunity, I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that involving members of the public in scientific research is an old idea. It’s called Citizen Science.

 

I was first introduced to the concept of Citizen Science by a former teacher, Dr. Julie Reynolds, who uses volunteers to help track invasive plant species in a North Carolina state park. Intrigued by the notion, I looked into the literature on this topic. As it turns out, Citizen Science has a great deal of benefits for both the researcher and the citizen volunteers.

Citizen Science greatly increases the number of trained observers participating in a project, allowing observation on a scale otherwise not possible. For example, the Cornell Ornithology lab collects data from more than 200,000 bird watchers throughout the United States and Canada. Citizen Science volunteers have also been used for projects as diverse as tracking coral reef fish populations and seismic monitoring. They were also involved in the first efforts to track the progression of a disease through a wild population (in that case, birds). These important projects would have been impossible without the large number of volunteers involved.

Volunteers also benefit. Surveys and interviews indicate that after participating in a Citizen Science project, people report increased feelings of environmental stewardship, increased knowledge about local wildlife, and an increased understanding of the scientific process. Most volunteers also try to educate their friends and neighbors about what they have learned.

How do sharks fit into all of this? Actually, shark researchers were some of the first to involve the public in our science. In 1962, the National Marine Fisheries Service Cooperative Shark Tagging Program began (the Cornell bird program began in 1966, making their claim to be the first Citizen Science program not entirely accurate…) The NMFS shark tagging program provides tags and datasheets to volunteers, who catch, tag, collect data from, and release various shark species of interest. If these sharks are later caught by  fishermen, the tags have a phone number to call to report the shark’s capture location and size. Tagging large numbers of sharks allows us to track migration routes, growth patterns, and long term population trends. So far, we’ve tagged over 170,000 sharks of 51 species- not quite the number reported by Cornell’s birdwatcher army, but still an impressively high figure.

Photo credit: David Shiffman, SC. Note the yellow roto-tag on this baby tiger shark's dorsal fin

I was pleased to emulate the University of Miami shark survey’s tradition of allowing volunteers from the general public on board, and the results have been largely positive. I received over 200 replies to my call for volunteers. Some were rather frustrating (a gentleman who misunderstood the concept of “volunteering” asked if I could buy him a plane ticket to Charleston from Shanghai, and over 75 people who I have never spoken to before felt the need to e-mail me and say “I’m sorry but I can’t come”.  I also received over two dozen resumes of people looking for jobs with the shark survey). Most respondents, however, were people who really wanted to help, and I was able to staff our sampling vessel with volunteers for the whole month of July.

Most of our volunteers were incredibly helpful and enthusiastic, and their assistance was invaluable. My fellow shark scientists can attest that it’s really helpful to have an extra person on board to take turns pulling in  heavy gear. It’s also helpful to have someone to record data so that the scientist measuring the shark can focus on holding the large angry predator still. Using volunteers instead of field staff also saved the shark survey some money in a year when money is tight everywhere.

All of our volunteers learned something about sharks and their important role in our oceans, and at least a few went home and told their friends and family. In what might be the most reliable method of determining how much someone enjoys a task I’ve ever come across, 80% of my former volunteers now use a photo of them holding a shark as their Facebook profile picture.

Obviously some projects do not lend themselves to an army of volunteers, such as lab studies that require very specialized training or equipment.  Despite this, many field-based projects can be improved by involving volunteers. If it makes any sense for your research project, I cannot recommend the use of Citizen Science volunteers highly enough.


Brossard, D., Lewenstein, B., & Bonney, R. (2005). Scientific knowledge and attitude change: The impact of a citizen science project International Journal of Science Education, 27 (9), 1099-1121 DOI: 10.1080/09500690500069483

Cochran, E., Lawrence, J., Christensen, C., & Jakka, R. (2009). The Quake-Catcher Network: Citizen Science Expanding Seismic Horizons Seismological Research Letters, 80 (1), 26-30 DOI: 10.1785/gssrl.80.1.26

Fischer, J. (1997). Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis in Wild Songbirds: The Spread of a New Contagious Disease in a Mobile Host Population Emerging Infectious Diseases, 3 (1), 69-72 DOI: 10.3201/eid0301.970110

Pattengill-Semmens CV, Semmens BX, & Reef Environmental Education Foundation (2003). Conservation and management applications of the REEF volunteer fish monitoring program. Environmental monitoring and assessment, 81 (1-3), 43-50 PMID: 12620003

Share this:

  • Click to share on Bluesky (Opens in new window) Bluesky
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
  • Click to share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
  • Click to share on Mastodon (Opens in new window) Mastodon

Related

Tags: citizen science shark research volunteer

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: E.O. Wilson is the Lord of the Ants
Next Post: Twitter #shark trivia ❯

You may also like

Oceanography for Everyone
Fun Science FRIEDay – Open-Acess Science for the Masses
July 15, 2016
Weekly Salvage
How to help Houston, GameBoy SONAR, buy a lighthouse, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 28, 2017
August 28, 2017
Climate change
It is your ocean. You should have access to the tools to study it.
January 26, 2024
Uncategorized
Did Wyoming really just outlaw citizen science?
May 11, 2015

One thought on “Adventures with Citizen Science: perspectives of a shark biologist”

  1. Sam says:
    July 25, 2010 at 12:03 pm

    You’re right, this is pretty common. Wisconsin uses volunteers for tons of conservation initiatives, including surveying the endangered Butler’s garter snake population, surveying bats and a few other Great Lakes-specific initiatives, like reporting/helping to eliminate our myriad malignant alien species in the lakes.

Comments are closed.

Recent Popular Posts

Deep-sea Mining: It’s science fiction, until it isn’t.Deep-sea Mining: It’s science fiction, until it isn’t.May 14, 2025Andrew Thaler
My "Follow ocean science and conservation experts on Bluesky and Instagram" assignmentMy "Follow ocean science and conservation experts on Bluesky and Instagram" assignmentNovember 19, 2024David Shiffman
Here's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationHere's what I teach my students about finding jobs in marine biology and conservationApril 10, 2024David Shiffman
Shark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryShark of Darkness: Wrath of Submarine is a fake documentaryAugust 10, 2014Michelle Jewell
Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)Our favorite sea monsters – Ningen (#4)September 7, 2010Andrew Thaler
Alberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetAlberta, Canada is the proud owner of the largest man-made pyramid on the planetOctober 16, 2012Andrew Thaler
What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?What can the funniest shark memes on the internetz teach us about ocean science and conservation?November 8, 2013David Shiffman
I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.I turned my woodshop into a personal solar farm.June 21, 2021Andrew Thaler
Megalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryMegalodon: the New Evidence is a fake documentaryAugust 7, 2014David Shiffman
A quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyA quick and dirty guide to making custom feeds on BlueskyFebruary 7, 2024Andrew Thaler
Subscribe to our RSS Feed for updates whenever new articles are published.

We recommend Feedly for RSS management. It's like Google Reader, except it still exists.

Southern Fried Science

  • Home
  • About SFS
  • Authors
  • Support SFS


If you enjoy Southern Fried Science, consider contributing to our Patreon campaign.

Copyright © 2025 Southern Fried Science.

Theme: Oceanly Premium by ScriptsTown