You may have watched or heard of Finding Nemo but have you heard of Finding Petu? This recently launched campaign encourages common people to report sightings of Petu or Pedostibes tuberculosus, the Malabar tree toad that lives in the forests of the Western Ghats. So far classified as endangered, it seems that the toad may be quite common after all, thanks to over 200 sightings reported across states since 2014!
This is the magic of citizen science. People like you and me, who are not professional scientists, can still be science superheroes! Using the power of our curious minds, we can help explore and understand our unique planet and solve real-world problems. Citizen science is a way to contribute to scientific research and help people become active citizens who are shaping our future.
Did you know that scientists are identifying hundreds of new species every year and also rediscovering some thought to be extinct? Doesn’t this highlight how much of the natural world remains to be explored? As science superheroes, we can take action for Nature by collecting data for scientific studies.
Take action
This can be as simple as photographing a bird or plant, which anyone anywhere can do. For more complex tasks, volunteers may be given training or guidelines so that the data they collect is accurate and can be consolidated and interpreted by scientists running the project.
What’s exciting is that even quick and simple observations can be meaningful and add to major global research. For example, the Living Planet Report, a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity, depends a lot on citizen science contributions. Around 17% of studies on the Monarch Butterfly and 50% of studies on migratory birds and climate change use citizen science contributions, according to two separate studies published individually in Bioscience and PLOS One. Some studies have even listed contributing science superheroes as co-authors or collaborators.
Crowdsourcing data
Science superheroes are a huge help to researchers, especially when vast amounts of data need to be collected from across the country or around the world. Technology and the Internet make things a lot easier.
The 2021 edition of the Dragonfly Festival, for instance, had participants upload 13,500 observations of dragonflies and damselflies from across India on the online platforms India Biodiversity Portal and iNaturalist. In just two days, dragonfly enthusiasts reported over 700 observations of 55 species. Around 250 volunteers also underwent training and conducted wetland surveys across India for three months in a first-of-its-kind citizen science project.
This benefits both researchers and citizen scientists. While the former gets more data quickly which helps make their studies more accurate, the latter has an opportunity to connect with and learn from Nature when photographing birds in the backyard or bugs on plants. They will experience first-hand how science applies to the real world. And also help protect something that they care about.
What you can do
It’s easy to be a science superhero! All you need are curiosity, access to common technology like a smartphone and the Internet, and enthusiasm to build knowledge of our world. You could send in observations of plants, dragonflies, frogs, birds, and other species to online platforms such as India Biodiversity Portal, iNaturalist, or eBird. CitSci India lists several interesting projects on biodiversity. You don’t need to go far from home! Many projects involve exploring your city or neighbourhood or making observations from your backyard, like the Great Backyard Bird Count. Some projects can be done on a smartphone from your couch!
Want to become part of a community making a difference to science and the planet? Just with your enthusiasm for science, you can actually become planet Ninja!
(A monthly column from WWF India)
The writer is the Director-Environment Education, WWF India
