The backyard scientists

Five years back, Aravind Madhyastha began studying the distribution patterns and taxonomy of snails and slugs. The senior researcher associated with the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) realised the need for more data. So, he asked interested citizens to contribute photos to a dedicated page titled ‘Mapping Indian Snails and Slugs’ (MISS) on the India Biodiversity Portal.

The ground-level observations that Madhyastha received from enthusiasts over the next few years helped his research immensely.

“Researchers, especially ecology scientists, need a large amount of field data in a short period of time to come up with findings that can boost conservation. However, with fewer scientists working in the field and poor research funding, data collection becomes tough. This is where citizen scientists come to our rescue,” says Madhyastha.

It is not just Madhyastha, but a number of researchers working in different areas such as wildlife, climate change and life sciences are increasingly relying on citizen scientists.

Leaps forward

Take, for instance, batrachologist K V Gururaja from Bengaluru, who has been studying the frogs of the Western Ghats.

Gururaja has an army of citizen scientists across the state who feed into his study with their field observations. The team includes homemakers, engineers, businessmen, students, educators and even children.

Every monsoon, Gururaja conducts training camps for those passionate about amphibians so that more people can contribute to creating scientific content.

“The rediscovery of the Malabar tree toad is one classic example of what citizen scientists can do. Over 100 citizen scientists recorded their observations, giving us more insights into this toad that dwells in the Western Ghats. From 30 observations in 2014, we have 340 observations now,” says Gururaj.

Citizen scientists learn about frogs at Eco Village in Halligeri Dharwad; (top) Citizen scientists and experts document birds around Kaiga in Uttara Kannada during a Bird Marathon. DH Photos

Beyond just accepting and using data, Gururaj also ensures that the citizen scientists whose observations are used in scientific papers are given the credit of being co-authors, along with the researchers.

Batrachologist Gururaja K V talks to citizen scientists in the field.

According to Varad Giri, a taxonomist who has worked with citizen scientists in the Western Ghats, social media is flooded with photographs of animals, birds, rare insects and plants clicked by passionate individuals. Yet, these observations and documentation rarely find their way to labs. 

But with a rise in the number of portals like ‘iNaturalist’ and the India Biodiversity Portal, several citizens upload these photos here. These images are then identified and discussed by the scientific community.

“Science is not confined to scientists now, and the gap between the citizens and scientists is reducing. Every photo of wildlife and even backyard creatures like spiders has loads of information. People just need to put them on relevant portals,” Giri says.

He conducted a course for the forest guards of the Kali Tiger Reserve, who have access to the rich biodiversity of the Western Ghats. The course oriented them on documenting and discovering or rediscovering species of flora and fauna.

Crowdsourced data

Seasonwatch, led by the Mysuru-based Nature Conservation Foundation, is another pan-India programme that is completely driven by citizen scientists. Under this initiative, changing seasons are studied by monitoring the annual cycles of flowering, fruiting and leaf-flushing.

Ecologist Geeta Ramaswami, who heads the programme, says they have a systematic network. They work with regional partners who, in turn, connect with individuals and institutions. Currently, they have around 2,200 individual contributors, including 10 to 12 teachers and students each from over 2,000 schools in several states, including Karnataka. Eco clubs of some rural schools are their active contributors.

Keen observation and inquisitiveness is the key to becoming a citizen scientist, says Rohit Rao, who runs a store selling electronic goods in Mangaluru. He has been actively involved in scientific research for the past few decades. 

He initially began trekking in the Western Ghats and his affinity for nature led him to associate with conservationists such as Ullas Karanth.

Wildlife Research and Conservation Society Executive Director (Research) Prachi Mehta, who works in the Mundgod region of Uttara Kannada, says that data generated through citizen scientists serves as brilliant baseline information. This helps in the comparative study of the biodiversity of that area.

Shortfalls

Though citizen scientists have proved to be a boon for researchers, the practice comes with some challenges as well, the major one being errors in documentation and identification.

“Once, a man from South India uploaded a picture of a frog endemic to the Western Ghats on a citizen scientist portal. There was confusion among conservationists over the frog being spotted in Bengaluru. Only a detailed investigation revealed that the picture was not taken in the place it mentioned,” recalls Madhyastha.

He adds, however, that errors do happen even on the part of researchers. It is important for the scientist to dive deep into the data collected before arriving at conclusions.

While some citizen scientists eventually get formal degrees and become experts in the field, some of them continue passionately collecting and analysing data for researchers. Either way, citizen science is making a mark and is here to stay.