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Monitoring rare or elusive species can be especially difficult in marine environments, resulting in poor data density. SCUBA-derived citizen science data has the potential to improve data density for conservation. However, citizen science data quality may be perceived to be of low quality relative to professional data due to a lack of ‘expertise’ and increased observer variability. We evaluated the quality of data collected by citizen science scuba divers for rockfish (Sebastes spp.) conservation around Southern Vancouver Island, Canada. An information-theoretic approach was taken in two separate analyses to address the overarching question: ‘what factors are important for SCUBA-derived citizen science data quality?’. The first analysis identified predictors of variability in precision between paired divers. We found that professional scientific divers did not exhibit greater data precision than recreational divers. Instead, precision variation was best explained by study site and divers’ species identification or recreational training. A second analysis identified what observer and environmental factors correlated with higher resolution identifications (i.e. identified to the species level rather than family or genus). We found divers provided higher resolution identifications on surveys when they had high species ID competency and diving experience. Favorable conditions (high visibility and earlier in the day) also increased taxonomic resolution on dive surveys. With our findings, we are closer to realizing the full potential of citizen science to increase our capacity to monitor rare and elusive species. / Graduate

This study aims to draw attention to a new concept within the tourism industry that integrates citizen science into an ecotourism product. The merge of citizen science and ecotourism shows potential to play a role in strategic sustainable development and to give ecotourism providers a competitive advantage in the market. However, the environmental and social benefits of this concept can only be realized if it is applied correctly. The framework for strategic for strategic sustainable development (FSSD) was used to address the complexity surrounding ecotourism and the use of citizen science. The study used a mixed method research design by conducting exploratory interviews, and then distributing a questionnaire to validate the qualitative findings. Results demonstrate that the merge of citizen science and ecotourism could contribute to sustainability through education, conservation, local community engagement, and the increased environmental awareness of the travellers. Additionally, it demonstrates that the integration of citizen science in an ecotourism product might create business benefits for the ecotourism providers in conjunction with a dynamic learning experience for the consumer. This study makes adaptions to a widely used citizen science toolkit and recommends appropriate changes to the process in order to ensure that it is effective for ecotourism providers while incorporating sustainability throughout the product design phase.

abstract: Plastic pollution has become a global threat to ecosystems worldwide, with microplastics now representing contaminants reported to occur in ambient air, fresh water, seawater, soils, fauna and people. Over time, larger macro-plastics are subject to weathering and fragmentation, resulting in smaller particles, termed ‘microplastics’ (measuring < 5 mm in diameter), which have been found to pollute virtually every marine and terrestrial ecosystem on the planet. This thesis explored the transfer of plastic pollutants from consumer products into the built water environment and ultimately into global aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. A literature review demonstrated that municipal sewage sludge produced by wastewater treatment plants around the world contains detectable quantities of microplastics. Application of sewage sludge on land was shown to represent a mechanism for transfer of microplastics from wastewater into terrestrial environments, with some countries reporting as high as 113 ± 57 microplastic particles per gram of dry sludge. To address the notable shortcoming of inconsistent reporting practices for microplastic pollution, this thesis introduced a novel, online calculator that converts the number of plastic particles into the unambiguous metric of mass, thereby making global studies on microplastic pollution directly comparable. This thesis concludes with an investigation of a previously unexplored and more personal source of plastic pollution, namely the disposal of single-use contact lenses and an assessment of the magnitude of this emerging source of environmental pollution. Using an online survey aimed at quantifying trends with the disposal of lenses in the US, it was discovered that 20 ± 0.8% of contact lens wearers flushed their used lenses down the drain, amounting to 44,000 ± 1,700 kg y-1 of lens dry mass discharged into US wastewater. From the results it is concluded that conventional and medical microplastics represent a significant global source of pollution and a long-term threat to ecosystems around the world. Recommendations are provided on how to limit the entry of medical microplastics into the built water environment to limit damage to ecosystems worldwide. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Biology 2020

To be successful citizen science projects need to do two key things: (1) they need to meaningfully engage the public and they must also provide people with the tools, expertise, and/or training needed to participate in rigorous research that can be used by the scientific community. In some ways, these requirements are potentially at odds. Emphasis on rigor and expertise risks excluding members of the public who do not feel qualified to participate in esoteric or technically difficult scientific research. Conversely, projects that eschew rigorous methods in favor of wider participation might lead to bad data that cannot be used to draw any meaningful conclusions to expand scientific understanding. How then do those who are aiming to design successful citizen science programs create tools and processes that facilitate both active engagement and meaningful scientific results for perceived non-expert researchers? This paper uses a case study of the Outsmart Invasive Species Project (Outsmart) to explore how visual media shape the experiences of citizen scientists participating in a data collection project. Outsmart uses visual media such as photographs and videos to train users in identifying invasive species, and asks them to submit their own location-tagged pictures to a central database for review by a trained research team. Using ethnographic field observation, we focused on how visual media serve to improve engagement in non-expert Outsmart users by building confidence and expertise. Our work can provide guidance to other citizen science projects in how to best use visual media to empower citizens and improve scientific outcomes.

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Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are growing fields in both global job markets and educational spaces. The problem related to this study was the lack of understanding of how gender and ethnicity might relate to differences in the science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest of students who have participated in STEM intervention programs at the middle school level. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the extent to which there were differences between the dependent variables of science self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and task interest in U.S. middle school students based on the independent variables of gender and ethnicity after participating in a citizen science STEM intervention program. Social cognitive career theory was the theoretical framework for the study. This study was a nonexperimental comparative investigation based on survey responses from students who had participated in a water quality, citizen science STEM intervention from 2017-2019. The participating students’ school district has a history of multiple, systemic STEM learning experiences. The results of two-way MANOVA indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in career choice variables between male and female students and between non-Hispanic and Hispanic students after participating in a citizen science intervention program. This study has the potential to help students from underrepresented populations to envision success in their STEM educational and career pathways by seeing other students experience success in those areas. Educators may also be better able to design programs that address the specific needs of underrepresented student populations, which may lead to better student outcomes for those groups.

L'expansion des surfaces urbaines a de fortes conséquences sur la composition des communautés de plantes et de pollinisateurs. Néanmoins, les effets de l'urbanisation sur l’interdépendance entre ces deux communautés et leurs conséquences évolutives restent peu étudiés. Premièrement, nous avons cherché à identifier le long d'un gradient d'urbanisation les facteurs affectant les communautés de plantes et de pollinisateurs. Deuxièmement, nous avons testé l'existence de divergences évolutives intra-spécifiques pour les caractéristiques reproductives de plantes d'origine urbaine et rurale. Dans ce but, nous avons combiné l'analyse de données issues de programmes de sciences participatives en région de l'Ile-de-France et nous avons également mis en place une expérience de transplantation réciproque impliquant quatre espèces végétales fréquentes dans cette région. Nos résultats révèlent que la morphologie florale est le facteur le plus souvent impliqué dans l'observation des familles d'insectes sur les fleurs le long du gradient. Les familles d'insectes ayant une affinité positive aux surfaces imperméables préfèrent les corolles tubulaires, tandis que les familles ayant une affinité négative préfèrent les corolles évasées. L'urbanisation modifie la composition des communautés végétales, en sélectionnant notamment des espèces autogames et non-entomophiles. Nos résultats indiquent une perte fonctionnelle de pollinisateurs en milieu urbain. Une analyse détaillée de l’espèce Cymbalaria muralis suggère que les plantes auraient un plus grand bénéfice reproductif à allouer plus de ressources à la production de fleurs sur les sites de plantation urbain. En conséquence, les plantes d'origine urbaine ont tendance à produire plus de fleurs que celles d’origine rurale, au détriment de la production d'ovules par fleur et de la coloration des corolles. Cette divergence évolutive pourrait s'expliquer par des changements dans le comportement des pollinisateurs induits par une fragmentation accrue de l'habitat dans les zones urbaines. Cette thèse révèle que les changements induits par l'urbanisation dans l'abondance, le comportement ou les affinités florales fonctionnelles des pollinisateurs peuvent servir d'agents de sélection sur les espèces végétales spontanées. / The expansion of urban areas is known to impact the composition of plant and pollinator communities. However, the effects of urbanization on the interdependency between both communities, and the subsequent evolutionary consequences, are still poorly studied. First, we tried to identify along an urbanization gradient which factors shape plant and pollinator communities. Second, we tested the existence of intra-specific evolutionary divergences of plant reproductive characteristics between populations from urban and rural origins. For these purposes, we combined the analysis of data collected in the Ile-de-France region originating from citizen science projects, and we set up a reciprocal transplantation experiment involving four plant species commonly found in this region. We found that floral morphology was the most frequently implicated factor in the observation of insect families along the gradient. Insect families with positive affinity to impervious areas prefer tubular corollas, while families with negative affinity prefer non-tubular (open) corollas. Urbanization modifies the composition of plant communities, by selecting in particular autogamous and non-entomophilous species. Altogether, our results point towards a functional loss of pollinators along with urbanization. A detailed analysis of the species Cymbalaria muralis suggests a greater reproductive benefit in allocating more resources to flower production in urban plantation sites. As a consequence, plants from urban origin tend to produce more flowers compared to plants from rural origin, at the expense of ovule production per flower and flower coloration. This evolutionary divergence could be explained by shifts in pollinator behaviour induced by higher habitat fragmentation in urban areas. This thesis reveals that shifts in the abundance, in the behaviour or in the functional floral affinities of pollinators, induced by urbanization, could act as selection agents on spontaneous plant species.

The thesis is devoted to amateur ornithologists and their role in citizen science. In it's theoretical part it focuses mainly on citizen science, its features, history and present of ornithology and characterization of amateur ornithologist. The empirical part uses methods of qualitative research, which is based on semi-structured interviews with professional and amateur ornithologists who participate or deal with projects of citizen science. The research problem is formulated as follows: Amateur ornithologists, their role and involvement in civil science and cooperation with professional ornithologists from the perspective of both amateur and professional ornithologists. It uses a thematic analysis to process the interviews on which several topics are based, for example: amateur ornithologist and its concept, relationships between amateur and professional ornithologists and their cooperation, relationship of amateur ornithologists to nature, their self-education, citizen science from the perspective of amateur and professional ornithologists, data and their quality. Research suggests that the difference between amateurs and professionals lies mainly in their relationship to science, which affects other aspects of their relationship to each other and to citizen science.

Unpaved forest roads are adversely affecting coldwater streams through excessive erosion and the subsequent sedimentation of adjacent waterways. To help identify areas of concern, Trout Unlimited (TU) in the Southern Appalachian region developed a Community Science initiative to gather data on sediment sources and stream-road crossings. Volunteers were recruited and trained to monitor road and trail conditions and collect and submit data using a Survey123 application on their cell phones. Analysis of the contributed data reveals statistical connections between drainage type and both erosion level and stream sedimentation. The contributed data were also included as a calibration for the lite version of the Geomorphic Road Analysis and Inventory Package (GRAIP-Lite), a GIS-based road sediment contribution model. The analysis found statistically significant differences between Basic and Calibrated models at one of two sites, and substantial increases in sediment delivery from the Alternate model at both sites.