accidental ecologist

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 !