Perceptions of Aquaculture Among Citizen Scientists

Project Description

Understanding storm surge behaviors in estuaries can help communities better locate aquaculture farms, as well as design aquaculture-inspired adaptation measures (e.g., kelp “curtains”) to protect infrastructure. To date, researchers have relied on models to represent idealized scenarios of storm surge behavior; however, without observations to capture how storm surge behaves inside an estuary, actual effects remain a mystery.

Project personnel are developing an improved understanding of storm surge behavior in three Maine estuaries with varying physical properties by deploying a network of pressure sensors maintained by local citizen scientists. The current Theme 4 project pursues two interconnected goals related to that research: (1) to use a quasi-experimental design to engage local residents and aquaculture farmers in data gathering, involving varying types of training; and (2) to evaluate the citizen science component by establishing the reliability of the physical data and by measuring citizen scientists’ engagement in climate change and aquaculture-related issues in their communities.

To achieve the first goal, individuals will be assigned to one of two groups that vary by approach to citizen science – specifically, whether in-person training (vs. an online-based training) is provided, and whether a co-designed, dialogue-based activity occurs. The second goal will be achieved in two parts, by first evaluating the outcomes of citizen science participation, and second, by assessing the reliability of physical data. A pre- and post- project survey, in addition to in-depth interviews, will evaluate cognitive, affective, and behavioral indicators of engagement. Data reliability will be quantified using cross correlation between citizen science data and duplicate station data maintained by an expert scientist. Group comparisons will allow for testing of whether differences in citizen science approaches are associated with data accuracy.

Results and Accomplishments

To date, the project has recruited 24 citizen scientists from three estuaries (Bagaduce River, Bass Harbor, and the Penobscot River) to participate in the project. In August 2017, the project hosted two, 2-hour, in-person training sessions for participants in Bass Harbor and the Bagaduce River estuaries. As part of the co-created nature of this training, project personnel engaged participants in a brainstorming session about storm surge and other coastal issues affecting their community; part of these discussions included references to the role of aquaculture in Maine. Personnel also designed and implemented an online survey for the citizen scientists, which included, a battery of questions measuring perceptions of aquaculture development in Maine.

Project personnel anticipate that the planned in-depth interviews, as well as the post-survey and the three science café events will provide additional opportunities to engage participants, as well as other stakeholders (e.g., interested members of the public) in conversations about climate change adaptation and coastal development broadly, and local aquaculture development more specifically.

Summary of Data Being Collected

Data	Type	Quantity	Location
Pre-project citizen scientist survey	Quantitative / Qualitative	~50 (~13 citizen scientists per site, plus control group of citizens across 3 sites)	Bagaduce River, Sheepscot or Penobscot River, and Bass Harbor (but may change prior to data collection pending stakeholder needs/concerns)
Post-project citizen scientist survey	Quantitative / Qualitative	~50	Bagaduce River, Sheepscot or Penobscot River, and Bass Harbor
Confidential citizen scientist interviews	Qualitative	~20	Bagaduce River, Sheepscot or Penobscot River, and Bass Harbor