via National Audubon Society
When scientists first proposed adding the Tricolored Blackbird to the California endangered species list in 2004, they had a problem. Tricolored Blackbirds nest in large colonies that can move from year to year, and because the locations of these colonies in any given year may not be known, existing survey data were not enough to convince the California Fish and Game Commission to approve the listing.
In 2015 the species was again under consideration for protection under the California Endangered Species Act. This time, however, partners at California Audubon were armed with new information, thanks largely to the work of Dr. Orin Robinson–a Cornell Lab of Ornithology Postdoctoral Fellow in Conservation Science who has been studying Tricolored Blackbirds for the past two years.
Robinson’s work combined data in eBird, a citizen-science project logging millions of bird sightings, with survey data from partners at UC Davis to develop new trend estimates for the state’s Tricolored Blackbird population. By combining these data sets, Robinson developed a statistically reliable population model showing Tricolored Blackbirds declined more than 33 percent during just the past 10 years.
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Robinson’s research was the key piece of evidence cited by the State of California to approve state Endangered Species Act protections for Tricolored Blackbirds this past April.
Learn more:Â Crowd-sourced data wins protection for endangered tricolored blackbird
The Latest on: Citizen-science
via Google News
The Latest on: Citizen-science
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Citizen surveying suggests positive news for bat populations - Three species are on the increase, while others are stable, suggesting action to protect the flying mammals is working.
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Public participation in planning and urban design has a long history that can be traced back to seminal figures in planning, including Sir Patrick Geddes and Ebenezer Howard.
- Poll the Audience: Using Data From Citizen Science to Keep Wild Birds in Flighton May 18, 2022 at 2:26 pm
Using the eyes and ears of public volunteers can stretch the reach of science, according to a new analysis from Erica Stuber from the Department of Wildland Resources and the Ecology Center.
- Citizen science shows that climate change is rapidly reshaping Long Island Soundon May 15, 2022 at 7:56 am
Project Oceanology class retrieves a bottom trawl at the mouth of the Thames River. Anna Sawin, CC BY-SAIn the summer of 1973, Joe Hage was in the seventh grade. Together with his peers, he boarded ...
- Using citizen science for the advancement of solar energyon May 11, 2022 at 11:22 am
A team of researchers has used the experience of a participatory strategy to create and launch Generation Solar, a citizen science initiative for research and innovation in solar energy. Generation ...
- The Citizen Science Lab Announces Collaborative for the 3D Printing of Organs, Funded by $75,000 Pittsburgh Foundation Granton May 10, 2022 at 7:51 am
In collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, grant will provide high school students hands-on experience in 3D printing of organs & tissue May 10, 2022 / PRZen / PITTSBURGH — The Citizen Science ...
- How Citizen Science Can Keep Us from Loving Tahoe to Deathon May 9, 2022 at 8:00 am
You don’t have to be a professional scientist to help monitor Lake Tahoe. There are apps that allow anyone to become a citizen scientist by reporting what they see at the lake, or get their hands ...
- Global citizen science project finds more than 1,700 asteroid trails in Hubble imageson May 6, 2022 at 7:59 am
Combining artificial intelligence with many keen human eyes, astronomers have found 1,701 new asteroid trails in archival data from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, consisting of more than 37,000 ...
- Changing the conversation about science through citizen communicatorson April 19, 2022 at 10:33 am
Initiatives to help citizen science projects communicate about their results are paving the way for ordinary people to take the lead as effective and trustworthy science communicators. While ...
via Bing News