Latest news with #citizenscience
CBC
4 days ago
- Science
- CBC
Is watercress helping or hurting P.E.I. streams? A UPEI student aims to find out
If you're near a freshwater stream or river in Prince Edward Island this summer, you might spot UPEI biology student Julie Goodwin at work. Goodwin is spending the summer tracking watercress, an aquatic perennial herb that grows in slow-moving bodies of water and is also edible. Her goal is to learn where watercress is growing and how it's affecting Island streams. She said not much is known about the plant's history on the Island, so her work is helping create a snapshot for future research. It could also support better decisions about whether the plant should be controlled. "We have baseline data from when it was introduced, but that was quite a while ago," she told CBC's Island Morning. "Since then, there has been no distribution tracking. We don't know now if it has gotten more abundant, if it has moved downstream, if it's moved to other streams. And just because it's not reported somewhere, that doesn't mean it's not there." So far, she said, a lot of what's known about watercress distribution on P.E.I. has come from citizen science through platforms like iNaturalist. The app allows users to share photos and locations of plants and animals, helping researchers gather data for scientific and conservation purposes. "In the world… plant collection and plant identification is a serious issue. There is a lack thereof," she said. Benefits and drawbacks Goodwin said that after speaking with different watershed groups, she learned the impact of watercress varies depending on the environment. "Some watershed groups have mentioned that it grows so abundantly that it over-widens their streams and causes flooding, which damages aquatic habitats, and it out-competes native plants," she said. "However, other groups have just noticed it kind of sitting along the banks, catching sediment, even being nursery habitat... I myself have seen frog eggs laid on watercress early in the season." That variation highlights why more data is needed to better understand the plant's role in Island ecosystems, Goodwin said. "There's lots of relationships in the ecosystems in which the watercress resides, and understanding those relationships is really what this project is about," she said. "We want to understand why it's here, what's interacting with it, what kind of changes it might be having in the ecosystems. And from there, we can then go on to collect more data and more data over the years and be able to track it. And, really, that will move toward proper management and conservation." How Islanders can help Goodwin is hoping Islanders can help her gather data this summer. She's asking people to snap photos of any watercress they come across and upload them to iNaturalist. She said those who want to contribute directly can also send photos to her email along with the GPS co-ordinates, which are easily accessible from most smartphones. That information will be added to her personal monitoring system and help identify at-risk areas that might be more likely to accumulate watercress. "Eventually, once we have enough data, and once we do a bit of a pilot study this summer, hopefully we can develop a practical monitoring system that watershed groups can use to track it every year. And it's not just a summer project," she said.
The Herald
10-06-2025
- Science
- The Herald
Armed with water tests, SA students tackle eco-anxiety
After wading back to the river bank, Downsborough poured her findings into a container to identify the different macroinvertebrates with the help of her students. Each organism was given a unique score under the mini stream assessment scoring system (miniSASS) to help determine the water quality. The final results will be uploaded to an online map to identify polluted sites. Downsborough and her team also encourage citizen scientists to try out other water testing kits, such as Freshwater Watch and WaterCAN, which test for a range of pollutants such as excessive nitrates and phosphates. Findings can be uploaded online to be used by activists to rally for government action. In April, WaterCAN, alongside other civil society organisations, launched a report on Durban's Umbilo River that revealed pollution, including high levels of E coli bacteria. They called for urgent infrastructure repairs based on their findings. 'Civil society must continue to push for accountability, create awareness in communities and build action through citizen science,' the report said. The eThekwini municipal water and sanitation department acknowledged receipt of questions regarding the report, but did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. GroundTruth, an environmental consulting company that helped develop the miniSASS kit, trains citizen scientists including more than 1,000 youth in KwaZulu-Natal. Downsborough and Stippel presented their research on public participation at the Citizen Science for Water Quality Conference in the Netherlands in early June. Next year, the IIE MSA water monitoring initiative will be expanded more widely across campuses and schools. 'Writing papers is one way to have impact, but bringing students outdoors to the river, bringing our office out to the river, is very rewarding,' Downsborough said. Thomson Reuters Foundation
BBC News
04-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Army of "citizen scientists" to help check Wiltshire air quality
A council is recruiting what it describes as an army "citizen scientists" to monitor local air newly formed Wiltshire Community Air Network is due to launch with 100 air quality sensors, which will be installed in air pollution hotspots around the sensors measure PM2.5 air pollution, small particles in the air that can increase the risk of health problems and be damaging to the of the public and organisations including schools and hospitals will be asked to mount a sensor outside their home or building. The project is Wiltshire Council's first step in gathering evidence on local PM2.5 sensors, which are about the size of a mobile phone, need to be plugged into mains power and have access to a stable internet council will be allocating sensors to each of the 18 community areas of Wiltshire based on the size of the population, prioritising applications from schools, NHS buildings, and supported housing data from the sensors will be publicly available online, so that people can see air pollution levels across Wiltshire in real time. Gary Tomsett, environmental control and protection team manager at Wiltshire Council said that the new project was a necessary step forward: "Existing monitoring indicates that the air quality in Wiltshire is predominantly very good."However, there are a small number of locations where the combination of traffic, road layout, and physical features of an area result in pollutants being trapped so that concentrations increase to unacceptable levels," he polluted routes include London Road in Salisbury, Warminster Road in Westbury, Wadworth Corner in Devizes and Mason's Lane in Bradford on council currently has professional-grade air quality monitoring stations in Salisbury, Bradford-on-Avon, Marlborough, and Devizes, but the equipment is expensive, costing tens of thousands of pounds to purchase and maintain. What is PM2.5 and Why does it matter? PM2.5 pollution is defined as small particles in the air that can increase the risk of health problems and be damaging to the most common sources of PM2.5 particulates are vehicle emissions, industrial discharges, and biomass burning – including domestic wood tiny particulates can get into the human bloodstream through the lungs, and are responsible for an estimated 29,000 deaths in the UK every is not currently part of the UK Government's Local Air Quality Management framework, so local authorities are not required to monitor and report PM2.5 levels.
CBC
29-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Citizen scientists sought to catch mosquitoes, help monitor disease-carrying species
Social Sharing As mosquito season ramps up, the University of Calgary and the city are calling on citizen scientists to help them study the potential health impacts of the invasive northern house mosquito — an insect capable of transmitting diseases from birds to humans. Calgarians can take part in the research by picking up a mosquito trapping kit at Ralph Klein Park or the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. Each kit contains a tube to catch a mosquito in and a tracking paper to detail the time and place it was caught. "This will help us know what species are attracted to people in our area, what's happening in our parks and what mosquitos we might want to take a look at closer in the future," said John Soghigian, an assistant professor in the faculty of veterinary medicine at the University of Calgary. After catching the mosquitoes (dead or alive), participants can drop off their kits in boxes located within the parks. Culex pipiens, most commonly known as the northern house mosquito, is of particular concern in Calgary, according to Soghigian. That's because while it mostly feeds on birds, it can also bite humans, making it a potential transmitter of the West Nile virus, among other diseases. Alex Coker, the city's integrated pest management technician, said mosquitos numbers are starting to increase around the city as temperatures climb, but that's typical for this time of year. According to Coker, Calgary has about 35 to 40 mosquito species. The city spreads out mosquito traps in areas like parks to monitor and research the insects. While Coker said they haven't caught many yet this year, mosquito numbers usually peak by mid-July. "I would say right now it's probably like under 100, although we have had some times where we've gotten more than that this time of year," she said. "We might get maybe 1,000 or a few thousand in a trap in a night." To help manage mosquito populations, Coker said Calgarians should dump any standing water in their backyard regularly, like bird baths or rain barrels. Citizen science Soghigian's lab studies mosquitos caught in traps across the city, tracking invasive species and conducting other research projects about mosquito diversity in the region and the risks those insects pose. The idea to involve citizen scientists came from a project in Newfoundland, where scientists used it as a way to augment their own surveillance of mosquitos. Through community engagement, those researchers found some species of mosquitoes that they couldn't find with their normal traps, Soghigian explained. "Sometimes it's hard to get at mosquitoes when they're actually actively seeking the hosts. So this helps us do that," he said. Last year, about 30 people participated in the program from Calgary, alongside some participants from Lethbridge and Edmonton, but Soghigian said he hopes to get more people involved this time around. The northern house fly The northern house fly was first found in Alberta by pest management technicians in Edmonton in 2018. The insect is believed to be native to Europe and North Africa. "One of the things that surprised me most about Alberta is the speed at which an invasive mosquito has moved across the province," said Soghigian. "That's a big focus of research in my lab is figuring out how this mosquito got to Alberta and why it's so successful here." The Culex pipiens is also to blame for starting the spread of West Nile virus in North America, according to Soghigian, though he noted that native species can also spread the disease. While mosquitos native to Alberta usually thrive near larger bodies of waters, the northern mosquito thrives in both wet and dry conditions. "It's pretty different from our other native mosquitoes because it's really good at living alongside us," Soghigian said.
ABC News
28-05-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Shelly Beach indicates extent of plastic pollution in world's oceans
Shelly Beach is situated in the remote Nuyts Wilderness on Western Australia's south coast, but its isolation has not spared it from the global issue of plastic pollution. The small pieces of plastic collected here by tour guide Gary Muir and his guests have provided crucial data for a recent University of Western Australia study. Peter Speldewinde oversaw the project by student Agustiawan, who looked at what type of plastic was washing up and why. "It only comes along once in a while you get this kind of data," Dr Speldewinde said. For nearly a decade Mr Muir and his tour groups have cruised by boat from Walpole to the isolated mooring spot before taking a short walk through along the beach to collect plastic. "You take people to this pristine beach and it does look pristine — until you start looking for plastics," he said. Plastic pollution on south coast beaches in WA is limited, but it is indicative of the wider problem. "It gets scary when you've just collected, in 120 metres, 100 pieces on a beach," Mr Muir said. "You think, 'There's nothing here' — you times that by nine and you get [roughly] a kilometre, then times that by how many beaches you have, you go, 'Wow.'" People on Mr Muir's eco-cruise take on the role of citizen scientists as they scour a 120m stretch of sand at the high-tide mark. "It's one way to allow people who come out with us as part of ecotourism to have an understanding and awareness of our world and also people's role within it," Mr Muir said. The devastating impact plastic pollution can have on wildlife is seen on Lord Howe Island, off Australia's east coast, where seabirds have become so full of plastic they crackle and crunch. The study found wind direction was a key driver in the accumulation of plastic on the beach and that wind strength had a limited role. The Raman spectroscopy analysis technique was used to help identify the type of polymer. Most of the samples found were high-density polyethylene, a common hard plastic used in objects such as crates and bottles. Agustiawan said he was hoping to complete more research on microplastics in his home country of Indonesia, including an examination of how much was transported through currents to WA. "I think microplastics is one of the biggest problems in the world right now," he said. "Even if we stopped using plastic today, microplastics will still be a problem 100 years from now because plastic will last a really long time." Agustiawan said a significant amount of the waste collected at Walpole was comprised of pellets known as nurdles. The lentil-sized pellets are melted down to form the basis of most plastic products. Some of the tiny plastic pellets found at the Walpole beach were from 2017, when the MSC Susanna lost two containers, which resulted in more than 40 tonnes of nurdles ending up in the water off the South African city of Durban.
