CITIZEN SCIENCE
The term citizen science gets used a lot in the dive community, especially when talking about environmental projects. If you’ve ever been involved in any community diving events and been asked to record data on what you’ve done, you’ve probably been a part of a citizen science project without even realizing it. But what exactly is citizen science? Simply put, it is scientific research done by members of the public, or non-scientists. While citizen science is used in many fields, it is most commonly used in biology and conservation, which is why we see it so often in diving.
Biology and conservation work both rely on data about what is in a specific area. If people who are already in that area, and enjoying it, can also record data while they're there, then there is more data available for research purposes. Now, this being
said, it’s not just randomly posting information online about your dive, or nature walk, or whatever. The key thing to make it citizen science is to be involved in a specific project and record specific data sets for that project, then submit that data to the project.
The most common and popular example of citizen science in the diving community is REEF surveys. REEF (Reef Environmental Education Foundation) is an international marine conservation organization with the mission ”to protect biodiversity and ocean life by actively engaging and inspiring the public through citizen science, education, and partnerships with the scientific community.” One of the main ways they do this is through their REEF surveys. For each region they have data sheets of the common marine species and when divers go on their fun dives, they count these species and then submit the data to REEF. This data has been used all over the world for assorted research papers and conservation efforts.
It is very easy to get involved in REEF surveys; simply go to their website and make an account, if you’re new to marine life ID join one of their “fishinars” to learn how to ID the marine life you’re looking at, then start counting during your dives! Anyone can join and start counting to help preserve our oceans. You start out as a “novice” surveyor, and as you submit more data and show that you know what species you’re looking at move on up in the ranks to expert!
The next most common citizen science project in diving is PADI Aware’s Dive Against Debris .
Dive Against Debris is a bit more involved than REEF surveys, as it involves pulling trash out of our waterways, but it is still easy to be a part of. You can either do your own dive and pull trash out and submit the data, or you can join an organized event. It is suggested that if you’re doing your own collections that you take the course first, but either way, divers go down and collect rubbish during their dive, then that rubbish is weighed and counted. That data is then submitted to PADI Aware’s database where it is used to support development and implementation of policies to improve solid waste management around the world!
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Both of those are international examples of citizen science projects, where anyone in any part of the world can join and submit data for their specific area. However, there are also many smaller community projects that may only be run in a specific area. Some of these are short-term projects that are only run to gather data for one specific research project, while others are on-going and are run every year. Some are seasonal projects, due to the life they’re looking for only being around at certain times, whereas others are ever on-going.
A popular local example of an on-going season specific project is Lingcod Egg Mass Surveys. Originally started by the Marine Life Sanctuaries Society, then taken over by Ocean Wise and the Vancouver Aquarium, and now back in the hands of MLSS, the Lingcod Egg Mass Survey (LEMS) is an annual winter project to record data on lingcod egg masses and their guarding males. Like most citizen science diving projects, divers go out on their regular fun dives and record the requested data, then submit it online. This project has been ongoing since 1994 and takes place all around Georgia Straight. Because it is a project recording data on egg masses, it is only run during egg season, so only a couple of months of the year.
Citizen science projects are designed so that the public can join with very little training. For the most part, all that is needed is to attend a quick info session or read an article to know what data to gather, then go out as usual. In diving most projects are done using “the roving diver” method; so divers dive in no pattern, however they’d normally dive, and collect data during their dive. This also makes it easier for more people to join in, as they can still enjoy a regular dive while collecting data.
Because citizen science is done by untrained members of the public, the data they collect usually isn’t used as a be all end all for scientific research, but rather it is used as a jumping off point, or as a historical record. If, for example, a scientist wanted to do a project on the mating habits of a certain species and there was a vast database showing that species was in a certain area with their young, then the scientist could better plan and execute a specific research project with the citizen science data as their starting point.
Unfortunately, conservation efforts often aren’t funded very well, so if the public can start supplying some data for free it goes a long way in helping get areas or species protected. When we protect what we love, we’re able to enjoy it longer. With citizen science projects being designed to be easy for people to take part in, divers should make an effort to join them when possible. Providing this valuable data to the scientific community will only help protect our oceans and make our dive sites better.