CITIZEN SCIENCE for Conservation in Southern California

SYMPOSIUM

Poster Presentation Session (4-6 p.m.) Veranda

Agenda

Keynote Speaker

Darlene Cavalier, founder of SciStar ter and Science Cheerleader, cofounder of ECAST: Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology, and a founding Board Member of the Citizen Science Association (CSA). Ms. Cavalier is also a professor at Arizona State University’s Center for Engagement and Training, which is part of the School for the Future of Innovation in Society. Her 2016 book, The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science, explores how citizen science is reshaping the relationship between science and the public.

8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. Check In & Complementary Breakfast Harbor Terrace

9:00 a.m. - 9:15 a.m. Welcome and Introduction Ocean Theater

9:15 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. Keynote Speaker Ocean Theater

Short Break

10:30a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Lightning Round Presentations Ocean Theater

12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch & Optional BioBlitz (1-2 pm)

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Moderated Panel Discussions Ocean Theater

3:00 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. Special Session Presentations Ocean Theater

Short Break

4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Poster Session & Networking Reception Veranda

Ms. Cavalier grew up in Pennsylvania, in a small town where science felt unattainable for the average student. She was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers, and fell in love with science while working for Discover Magazine. While she found success in the corporate world, she found fulfillment through science. Her life goal is “to empower ordinary people to contribute to science, and for their voices to be influential in ongoing science policy debates.”

The Aquarium of the Pacific, Marine Conservation Research Institute, and Premier

Welcome you to the 3rd Annual Citizen Science Symposium!

Planning Committee Event Sponsors

Jennifer Lentz, Ph.D., Aquarium of the Pacific

Cassandra Davis, M.Sc., Aquarium of the Pacific

Linda Chilton, USC Sea Grant

Richard Smart, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

Symposium Volunteers

Sarah Kaleel, Symposium Bioblitz Lead, Aquarium of the Pacific

Jacqueline Olvera, Aquarium of the Pacific

Arely Cardoso, Santa Ana College

Ejike Anusiem, California State University Fullerton

Leticia Castro, California State University Fullerton

Montserrat Russell, Santa Ana College

Steven Guiterrez, Santa Ana College

A Special Thank You to the following...

South Bay Nature Meetup and iNaturalist Community

Cheryl Bader and David Bader; South Bay Nature Meetup

Using iNaturalist for Artificial Reef Monitoring

Michael Bear; Ocean Sanctuaries

Onshore Sea Turtle Observation and Monitoring

Cassandra Davis, M.Sc.1,2, Barbara Ramon2, and Kelly Burkhead2; AOP 1& SCSTMP 2

Short, Cheap...But Sweet! Informing Local Governments Regarding Wildlife Activity in a Recreational Area Through Inexpensive and Noninvasive Trail Camera Monitoring

Korinna Domingo; Mountain Lion Foundation and Humboldt State University

Citizen Science with the Golden Gate MPA Collaborative and Preliminary Monitoring Results of the Marine Protected Areas of the North Central MPAs

David McGuire; Golden Gate MPA Collaborative and Shark Stewards

Catalina Marine Society Citizen Science Projects

Karen Norris and Craig Gelpi; Catalina Marine Society

Harmful Algal Blooms: Phytoplankton Monitoring Comparison of Two Locations in the Southern California Bight

Gavin Peters and Jenny Peters; AOP, HABwatch, CDPH Marine Biotoxin Monitoring

An Overview of the Findings of the North American Freshwater Turtle Research Group’s Citizen Science Program

Michael Skibsted; Bio Time, Inc.

Moderated Panel Discussion (2-3 p.m.) Ocean Theater

The following 5 minute talks will be presented in the order shown below Please save all questions for the end of this session Data Analysis: Exploring Individual Citizen Science Monitoring Data

Barbara Ramon1, Celeste Hassler1, Zaida Ortez1, and Cassandra Davis, M.Sc.1,2;

Southern California Sea Turtle Monitoring Project (SCSTMP),1 Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP) 2

Citizen Science in the Classroom Using Photo Identification

Saki Hashimoto; TGR Foundation

Leveraging Citizen Science as an Outreach and Education Tool

Erika Delemarre; MAS-MBC Candidate, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD

eLearning Tools — “Hubs” Between Volunteers, Educators, Classrooms, & Events

Barbara Lloyd; Ocean Sanctuaries

Friends with Fins — Educating the Next Generation of Ocean Stewards

Jaclyn Friedlander and Timothy Riese (cinematographer); Friends with Fins

San Diego Zoo’s Wildlife Watch: Empowering Students to be Citizen Scientists

Colleen Ferguson and Brooke Castro; San Diego Zoo Global

Climate Change: Sea to Trees at Acadia National Park

Aviva Intveld and Aaron Rovinsky; Earthwatch Ignite

Evaluating Grunion Response to Ecosystem Changes Forced by Recent

Environmental Conditions in California’s Oceans

Lael Wakamatsu, Karen Martin, Sol Kim, Ariana Nickmeyer; NASA DEVELOP-JPL

Angela Kemsley; WILDCOAST

Using Citizen Science to Estimate Frequency of Latrine Site Usage Along

Tributaries of Humboldt Bay by North American River Otters

Korinna Domingo, Ximena Gil, and Dr. Jeffrey M. Black

Human Dimensions & Citizen Science: Using Remote Sensing Cameras to Mitigate

Wildlife Conflicts

Korinna Domingo and Ron Dean; Mountain Lion Foundation

An Evaluation of Volunteer Effort in the Restoration of Terrestrial and Aquatic

Resources in the Santa Monica Mountains

Angela De Palma-Dow, J. Curti, D. Sharpton, E. Sode, S. Rubin, J. Smith, R. Kosugi,

A. Shy-Sobol, T. Hayduk, J. Health, and B. Youngerman; Mountains Restoration Trust

Volunteer Research Programs Inform the Recovery of Rare Bird Species

Josh Weinik; Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy

So Cal Sea Slugs — Diversity and Distribution

Sarah Kaleel

The following individuals were invited give 10-15 minute talks on their respective programs Time permitting, questions may be asked after each presentation

Our Urban Watershed: Fostering Connections Through Exploration & Citizen Science

Alexandria M. Warneke, M.S.; Cabrillo National Monument, National Parks Service

Global FinPrint: A Collaboration with the Aquarium of the Pacific

Erin McCombs, M.S.; Aquarium of the Pacific (AOP)

Snapshot Cal Coast: 21 Century Natural History Along the California Coast

Alison Young and Rebecca Johnson; California Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Lightning Round Presentations (10:30-12p.m.) Ocean Theater

The Role of Technology in Citizen Science

Our moderator will help to guide the discussion so that the panel provides a well-rounded overview of the role of technology in citizen science. Our panelists will discuss some of the ways technology has facilitated data collection and improved the data QA/QC of the observations, as well as, some of the drawbacks they have experienced with the shift towards technology-based citizen science programs. Lila Higgins (Moderator ), Senior Manager, Community Science, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County (NHMLA)

Ms. Higgins is a museum educator with 15 years of experience in environmental education, exhibit development, and citizen science. She currently oversees the NHMLA’s Community Science program. She has a bachelor’s degree in Entomology from UC Riverside and a Master’s degree in Environmental Education from California State University, San Bernardino.

Brooke D. Simmons, Ph.D., Einstein Fellow, Astrophysicist & Citizen Science Expert, UCSD

Dr. Simmons measures properties of black holes, studies the evolution of galaxies, and helps rescue organizations respond to natural disasters on planet Earth, mostly by working with the global community of 1.7 million citizen scientists in the Zooniverse. She has a Ph.D. in Astronomy from Yale, and was a Henry Skynner Junior Research Fellow at Balliol College, Oxford.

Kimball L. Garrett, Ornithology Collections Manager, NHMLA

Mr. Garrett has been studying the birds of LA County for 50 years, during which time he has been closely involved in several citizen science programs, including the Los Angeles County Breeding Bird Atlas and Cornell’s eBird. He co-authored the following books: Birds of Southern California: Status and Distribution (1981), and Birds of Southern California (2012).

Rachel Meyer, Ph.D., Executive Director, CALeDNA citizen science program, UC Conservation Genomics Consortium, UCLA

CALeDNA is a state-wide community science initiative developing environmental DNA as a sort of forensics tool to monitor the communities in a place. She has a Ph.D. from the City University of New York, a postdoc studying crop plant genomics at NYU, and was a AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the National Science Foundation.

Shannon Waters, Smartfin Project Manager, Surfrider Foundation

Ms. Waters leads the collaboration and communication between Smartfin partners and manages Smartfin distribution, outreach, and education to Surfrider chapters. The Smartfin is a surfboard fin with sensors that measure important ocean properties that help researchers and coastal communities understand trends in ocean health. With the Smartfin, surfers become citizen scientists, turning wave sets into data sets simply while surfing their favorite breaks.

Special Session Presentations (3-3:45 p.m.) Ocean Theater