In 2014, the Miistakis Institute hosted a Citizen Science Conference, exploring this diverse field with sessions on program design, evaluation, policy implications, technology and applications in parks and protected areas. This links to the website that chronicled that event.
Quality Control Considerations for Public Engagement in Urban Biodiversity Monitoring
Call of the Wetland is a citizen science program developed to monitor amphibians as an important biodiversity indicator in a large urban municipality in Canada. In Calgary, 90% of pre-settlement wetlands have been lost. To maintain and restore wetlands in and around the City of Calgary, there is a need to promote awareness and better understanding of wetland health. To inform the health of Calgary’s wetlands, “Call of the Wetland”, a citizen science program has been developed to monitor amphibians as an important indicator. Currently very little is known about amphibians in the City of Calgary.
One important component to citizen science programs is considering quality control measures. For Call of the Wetland, participants may not be trained wildlife biologists increasing the potential to misclassify species or provide false negatives while surveying wetlands. To assess this issue Acoustic Recording Units were set up at a random selection of Calgary wetlands in order to evaluate observer accuracy.
The quality control component provides data validation so results can be used to inform biodiversity planning by the City of Calgary and the Province of Alberta. We will present methodology and findings from the first two years of the program.
Poster Authors: Holly Kinas, Tracy Lee, Danah Duke, Jen DeMone, Coral Sawatzky / Nicole Kahal, Danah Duke, Tracy Lee, Holly Kinas, Ken Sanderson, Vanessa Carney, Kris Kendell, Lea Randall