Yellowstone Phenology Citizen Science Project
My supervisor Erik Oberg developed the Yellowstone Phenology Project, a citizen science initiative that has been made possible by Yellowstone scientists, Yellowstone Forever, and dedicated volunteers. Now in its second year, this project has proved to be effective, as it is enjoyable for volunteers, successfully teaches volunteers how collect and analyze quality data, and bridges the gap between scientists and the public. The Phenology Project aims to obtain data in Yellowstone National Park across a 4,300 foot elevation gradient in order to monitor how the environment is changing over time. At all of the sites along this gradient, volunteers and park scientists collect data from pitfall traps, climate monitoring stations, and plant phenology transects. The NEON Beetle Protocol is implemented for the pitfall traps, which means that our data can be shared with and used by NEON (a.k.a The National Ecological Observatory Network) in order to expand their sampling area.
Once we collect arthropod samples from the pitfall sites, we examine the specimens under a microscope and sort the samples based on order level identification; carabid beetles are special in that they are identified to family level. Beetles in the Carabidae family are the top predators in the insect world and their presence and abundance, in conjunction with climate and plant phenology data, may yield useful information about the Yellowstone ecosystem.
Working with the volunteers has been incredibly rewarding; I have met so many wonderful people since I started assisting with this project. I find myself looking forward to seeing familiar faces, making new friends, learning new things, and sharing my scientific knowledge.
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