Partnering for amphibian monitoring: Involving zoo audiences in collecting data on local wildlife

For the past four years, three nationally-accredited Washington state zoos (Woodland Park Zoo, Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park) have collaborated with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife... [ view full abstract ]

For the past four years, three nationally-accredited Washington state zoos (Woodland Park Zoo, Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium and Northwest Trek Wildlife Park) have collaborated with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to recruit, train and coordinate citizens to collect data on amphibian egg masses. The WDFW data collection protocol focuses on presence/absence data on egg masses of eight amphibian species in wetlands throughout western Washington.

Woodland Park Zoo’s (WPZ) program – coordinated by WPZ’s School & Community Engagement team – engages approximately 65 adults and 15 youth volunteers, divided into 15 teams, in monitoring sites in two counties once a month from February through August. The training session each January consists of classroom training and field practice on amphibian egg mass identification and WDFW’s data collection protocol. Participants borrow monitoring tools from WPZ, including hip waders, digital cameras, GPS units, and aquascopes. Training includes aquatic invasive species identification and equipment decontamination protocols so participants can document – and prevent the spread of – aquatic invasives. Participants report data using an online and mobile application developed by WDFW for public observation reporting on state priority species.

This presentation will illustrate WPZ’s experience with this collaborative project, including the logistics of partnerships between informal science institutions (like zoos) and government agencies, recruitment, training in data collection protocol, site selection, data submission, presentation of results, and participant retention. The results of participant surveys will be presented, emphasizing the positive participant outcomes of citizen science programs as well as the potential for informal science institutions to draw broad community participation. While the amphibian egg mass data collected is still preliminary, this presentation will provide those interested in engaging citizen scientists in collecting robust data with detailed information on the logistics, benefits, and challenges of implementing and evaluating these types of partnership programs.