accidental ecologist
TRANSCRIPT
T H E A C C I D E N T A L
E C O L O G I S T
L A U R A J A M E S
S C U B A D I V I N G C I T I Z E N S C I E N C E - S E A R C H I N G
F O R C O N S T E L L A T I O N S O F A D I F F E R E N T K I N D .
E C O L O G Y
W E L I V E I N A N D C O N T R I B U T E T O A R A P I D L Y C H A N G I N G
N A T U R A L W O R L D . I T I S O U R D U T Y T O E N C O U R A G E A L L
P E O P L E T O E X P L O R E , A P P R E C I A T E A N D B E G I N T O
U N D E R S T A N D T H E B I O L O G I C A L C O M P L E X I T Y O F O U R O C E A N
P L A N E T .
C I T I Z E N S C I E N C E I S N ’ T
N E W
A M A T E U R
A S T R O N O M Y
C I T I Z E N S C I E N C E
Z O O N I V E R S E . O R GC R O W D S O U R C I N G F O R S C I E N C E
C R O W D S O U R C I N G F O R T H E
R E S T O F U S
D R R O B E R T P A I N E
“Dr. Paine was the first in the world to demonstrate
experimentally that even a single species with a
small population may be crucial to the stability of an
ecological community,” wrote the jurors of the
Cosmos Prize, “and that preDaters having negative
impact on other species play vital roles in
maintaining entire communities.”
W H A T I S A
K E Y S T O N E
S P E C I E S ?
• When I first heard about the wasting disease I thought
“must be some localized issue”
• I did not immediately think it would spread to Puget
Sound.
D R . H A R V E L L C A M E T O V I S I T
W I D E S P R E A D M A R I N E
E P I D E M I C
S C I E N T I S T S H A D P R O T O C O L
A N D V O L U N T E E R T R A I N I N G
G E N E R A L D I V I N G P U B L I C L I K E D I D E A O F
H E L P I N G B U T D I D N ’ T R E A L L Y L I K E T H E I D E A
O F D O I N G ‘ W O R K ’ D U R I N G R E C R E A T I O N A L
T I M E .
T R Y I N G S O M E T H I N G N E W …
C R O W D S O U R C I N G F O R S C I E N C E
D O E S N ’ T T A K E P L A C E
O F S C I E N T I F I C
P R O T O C O L
H E A T M A P F O R A D V A N C E D S P R E A D
D A T A T O R A I S E A ” R E D F L A G ” A N D G I V E
S C I E N T I S T S A N I D E A W H E R E T O L O O K
W W W . S I C K S T A R F I S H . C O M
• # via instagram (idea from litterati.org)
• Crowd sourcing for science (idea from Zooniverse and
old weather)
• Openstreetmap & Ruby On Rails
• Source code: https://github.com/lamont-
granquist/sickstarfish
O U T C O M E ?
M E D I A :
6 T H M O S T P O P U L A R O N P B S N E W S H O U R
Y O U T U B E
> 1 M I L L I O N O N L I N E V I E W S O V E R A L L
T H E M E S S A G E G O T
O U T
C A U S E O F S E A S T A R W A S T I N G
S Y N D R O M E
• Virus that has been present for >72 years
• Temperature may be a stressor
• Also found in other echinoderms
• Virus persists in sediment
• Plankton connection?
E M E R G E N C Y M A R I N E
D I S E A S E A C T
Q : W H A T N O W ?
A : M O R E
O B S E R V A T I O N .
B I O D I V E R S I T Y S H I F T
G R E E N U R C H I N
E X P L O S I O N
O P E N R O V
BUILD AN UNDERWATER ROBOT AND PLAN A MICRO
EXPEDITION TO VISIT PUGET SOUND
OR LOCAL WATER BODY, AND DOCUMENT WHAT YOU FIND!
www.OpenROV.com
I N T R O D U C T I O N T O
D I G I T A L F I E L D J O U R N A L
& C I T I Z E N S C I E N C E
www.OpenExplorer.com
WORKING TOGETHER
LEVERAGING RESOURCES
FOSTERING
CURIOSITY
EXPANDING HANDS ON LEARNING
DEVELOPING PARTNERSHIPS
WITH L IKE MINDED
ORGANIZATIONS
advance slide show
to play video
O T H E R E N G A G E M E N T
O P P O R T U N I T I E S
A D D I T I O N A L M A K E R S P A C E P R O J E C T S S U C H A S
I P H O N E M I C R O S C O P E + P L A N K T O N
F O R S C I E N C E F A I R S , S T R E E T F A I R S A N D C L U B P R E S E N T A T I O N S
V I S I B I L I T Y P R O J E C T
O N E B A T T E R Y A T A
T I M E
B E A C H & D I V E S I T E C L E A N -
U P S
F O R C I T I Z E N S C I E N C E A N D
C O N S E R V A T I O N E F F O R T S T O B E
S U C C E S S F U L , I T H E L P S T O H A V E :
• Charismatic champion
• Collaboration with scientists
• Collaboration with others interested in moving the dial and making a
difference
• If possible Collaboration with local schools and after school programs
• Collaboration with media
• Multi-media (video, photographs, story)
• Consistency and persistence
F I N A L T H O U G H T S
• The sea star project worked because key scientists believed in me,
and were willing to share and review ideas as collaborators.
• Local environmental reporters chose to help tell the story to a broader
audience, in part due to prior conservation efforts.
• Outreach was successful because it is a story that touches adults
and children alike (sea stars are the ambassador to the underwater
world)
• Although divers are often ‘consumers’ of the underwater world, we
have so much to offer by way of observation, conservation and
preservation efforts. We are the last stand when it comes to
watching over and cleaning up our marine environment.
E C O L O G Y
W E L I V E I N A N D C O N T R I B U T E T O A R A P I D L Y C H A N G I N G
N A T U R A L W O R L D . I T I S O U R D U T Y T O E N C O U R A G E A L L
P E O P L E T O E X P L O R E , A P P R E C I A T E A N D B E G I N T O
U N D E R S T A N D T H E B I O L O G I C A L C O M P L E X I T Y O F O U R O C E A N
P L A N E T .
T H A N K Y O U !