Informing decision makers
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'Project Hotspot' has engaged with all ages of Citizen Scientists. Local schools have run 'Action Projects' and found some very surprising facts. The information about the location and behavior of four threatened and rare coastal species in Taranaki has resulted in positive actions to better protect the birds and animals. Online data collection using NatureWatch NZ and online GIS data analysis means that photos and information are immediately available to councils, NGOs and the public.
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Informing decision makers
- 1. Using citizen science to better protect coastal threatened species If we know more about where coastal threatened species occur we can use this information to better protect them. Elise Smith, Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society
- 3. A success story Significant discoveries: • Species distribution is now better understood – and not just the 4 ‘Hotspot’ species, but rare visitors and pest species • We have new information about animal behaviour patterns and preferred habitats • Some threats to these species have been identified Action: • School action projects were undertaken to mitigate threats • Informed decision-makers are making changes • Collecting and sharing data online on endangered coastal species and the threats. Citizen science - Informing decision makers
- 4. The citizen scientists • Schools • RSNZ Science Teacher Leadership teachers • Sea Week participants • Port Taranaki staff members • Photographers • People out walking
- 5. Orca, herons, penguins and seals Facts recorded in “Hotspot” • Location and time of observation • Number observed • Age and sex if known • Activity • Threats to the species • Photos
- 6. Citizen science - Informing decision makers Ecological alarm bells – can we be sure that the data collected is of scientific value? • Is the data of sufficient quality to accurately identify the species? • Is the data verifiable? • Is the data in a format that may be analysed? • Photographs of sightings are encouraged for confirmation by NatureWatch experts • Level of competence recorded • The iNaturalist/Naturewatch database allows data retrieval for analysis
- 7. Species data Heron Sightings Why is Port Taranaki a heron Hotspot? Have you got a hunch? What actions can you take?
- 8. Local information is necessary for Citizen science - Informing decision makers • Informing local government policies, plans and by-laws. • Better protection of threatened species • Advising resource consents for subdivision and impacts on migratory and resident organisms • Monitoring the spread of pest organisms • Understanding the spread of naturalised organisms
- 9. Citizen science - Informing decision makers The decision makers • Oil spill response team • Dog control officers • Storm water engineers • Council enforcement officers • Fish and Game officers and hunting clubs • Port officials – environmental planning • Department of Conservation • Regional and District Council Statutory Planners • Consent officers and Planners • Oceanographers – prediction and evidence • Academic researchers • Industry
- 10. Citizen science - Informing decision makers Using the data • Analyse the data to see if there are patterns in season, site, behaviour • See if you can confirm any hunches • Make data widely available Kelpie Photos : Emily Roberts Bob Smart Hilary Jagger Tidy
- 11. Threats to endangered species: Refuse Is the composition of marine litter on Taranaki beaches similar to that found internationally? • Oakura School and Highlands Intermediate visited Tapuae Marine Reserve • Bell Block Beach clean up • Waitara Beach clean up
- 12. Plastic shotgun wads Action Project: Survey the composition of marine litter in the Tapuae Marine Reserve Findings: Plastic shotgun wads were found, and their construct provided clues to their origins. MetOcean Solutions oceanographic modelling tracked the litter Recommended Actions: Work with Fish and Game to reduce the number of plastic shotgun wads entering the marine environment. MetOcean Blog http://www.metocean.co.nz/blog/2016/10/31/4f6qyojptsgspegisbe2qf0nq762ur
- 13. Parking tickets Action Project: Are plastic parking tickets less likely to break down than paper parking tickets? Do plastic parking tickets pose a threat to species in the Tapuae Marine Reserve? Findings: Tapuae Marine Reserve had plastic parking tickets on the beach. These are not biodegradable Recommended Actions: Work with New Plymouth District Council to find alternatives – e.g. online payment
- 14. Orca • Pods of orca are sighted several times a year in Taranaki coastal waters • Now we are excited to share their locations by mobile phone and Facebook • Photos with the fin shape enable us to identify individuals and track them – nationally valuable records • See the animation of their progress along the coast on Waitangi Day 2016 Animation of Orca sightings on Waitangi Day 8 Feb 2016 Kaweroa, New PlymouthWaitemata harbour Port Taranaki
- 15. Urenui Seawall and penguins
- 16. Penguin records for Urenui Local spatial and temporal data
- 17. Consent Conditions Agreed by DOC • Hours of work • Daily inspection: Non-nesting birds may be moved to a safe nest box. • Access to breeding sites. • An escape route for the penguins shall be provided if necessary to leave open overnight. • A form of access should be restored where the steps were located • Penguin nests
- 18. Resource consents • How good is the data that ecologists have? • In a recent New Plymouth sub- division hearing, the Hotspot Project contributed evidence of 16 ‘threatened’ or ‘at risk’ species, not known about by the contracted ecologists. The area is to now have a covenant forbidding cats and dogs. • Evidence of the pest Rainbow Skink was important in setting consent conditions
- 19. Some champions • Port Taranaki – using species data to advise resource consents • New Plymouth District Council - dog control signage, resource consents, Waitara Live Plan, District Plans , parking • Taranaki Regional Council - informing consents and Regional Plans • Schools, youth clubs – education and fun • Massey University research in penguins Citizen science - Informing decision makers
- 20. Acknowledgements Citizen science - Informing decision makers Emily Roberts (Project Hotspot Lead, Marine Ecologist TRC, NMMRS) Elise Smith (Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society, MAIN Trust NZ) Shane Orchard (Environmental Scientist, NatureWatch NZ) Pat Swanson (Experiencing Marine Reserves, Highlands Intermediate) Joshua Richardson (Project Hotspot Coordinator South Taranaki) Hannah Hendriks (Marine Species Technical Assistant DOC) Callum Lilley (Senior Ranger – Marine DOC) Halema Jamieson (Ecologist TRC) Mariana Horigome (MetOcean Solutions) Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment ‘Curious Minds’ funding made this project possible Allen Stancliffe (Fish and Game NZ) Denise Rowland (Partnership Ranger/Education DOC) Mike Tapp (Partnership Ranger/Education DOC) Raewynne Niwa (Education & Schools Partner) Gillian MacKay (Oakura School) Brent Dunnet (Spotswood College) Leesha Clark (Matapu School) Shakira Derbyshire (Auroa School) Thanks to the Hotspot Team … and many, many keen citizen scientists for data and photographs
Editor's Notes
- MARINE CHAMPION COASTS IN Project Hotspot has won a Taranaki Regional Council Environmental Award for engaging the community with science by collecting and sharing data online on endangered coastal species and their threats. It is an outstanding example of citizen science. Coastal recreational groups, school children, and other members of the public have recorded more than 450 sightings online of four threatened coastal species — orca, reef heron, little blue penguin and New Zealand fur seal. The project has a strong educational focus. Many schools contribute sightings, undertake action projects and are learning about threats to native coastal species. Highlands Intermediate and Oakura School students, with guidance from scientists, have been actively involved in investigating potential threats to species at the Tapuae Marine Reserve. They held a workshop and their findings are being used by industry, planners, conservationists and scientists to better protect coastal threatened species in Taranaki.
- Since 2008 the Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society and MAIN Trust NZ had been developing and using online data collection systems for research, to record the biotic and abiotic information on the New Plymouth coastline. Over the years, 6 RSNZ Science Teacher Fellowship teachers participated in the research projects, and provided a connection with the local educators and to the national Experiencing Marine Reserves Program. More recently the data collection became related with NatureWatch NZ, the local project data becoming part of the national datasets and still providing online GIS analysis of the information. The MBIE funding for a pilot Curious Minds project in Taranaki presented an opportunity to really capture the public attention, to engage with schools and develop curriculum-based activities, and make the issues real and exciting to the public. Project Hotspot was born. The funding allowed specialists to be engaged and brought together, particularly enabling them to attend Seaweek 2016 and participate in activities. The support of the Taranaki Regional Council with the participation of their marine biologist provided the impetus for a series of talks, excursions, school visits and publicity. Two teachers on the RSNZ Science Leadership Program brought their expertise for curriculum and resource development, and invaluable time for attending events and supervising workshops. Without the MBIE funding, and the paid input from highly trained and experienced professionals, the Marine Reserve Society would still be struggling along doing the best that volunteers can, as even when the volunteers are qualified, they have their own jobs and families. Conclusion: Citizen Science Projects need ‘inside support’ from the councils and government departments, expert supervision, and the success depends upon capturing public enthusiasm.
- A success story
- Citizen Scientists contribute their species data to NatureWatch through projects with strict fields which allow a Geographic Information system to take the data and analyse it spatial understanding. Students are encouraged to “Have a hunch”
- Analyse the data – compare the photos…. Here we have a major discovery – that the Reef Herons may be identified by the tattoos on their legs. Once you can identify individuals – without any invasive techniques and without interference, a much better idea of range and habits may be understood, and recorded for decision-makers Jagger has been seen near New Plymouth in late May, 21 , and six weeks later, a long way around the coast near Hawera, early July - 6th
- In August 2016, Dr Emily Roberts, Taranaki Regional Council’s Marine Ecologist, approached MetOcean Solutions to ask for help with some marine detective work. Emily is involved with Project Hotspot, a Taranaki based pilot project that is using citizen science to support the conservation of threatened and iconic species. As part of the project, Council worked with schools to clean up Taranaki beaches. The children were puzzled to find dozens of plastic wads from shotgun cartridges washing up on beaches around Taranaki, including within the environmentally sensitive Tapuae Marine Reserve. They wanted help in determining likely sources of the cartridges, and who better to answer this than New Plymouth’s resident oceanographers. Emily discussed the case with Allen Stancliff, the Taranaki Fish & Game Council Field Officer, who did some detective work. He suspected that the plastic wads came from the Manganui River (which flows into the Waitara River), where an annual club clay bird shoot event is held. The shoot has grown in popularity over the years, attracting about 200 shooters in recent years. As some of the traps are located on the riverbank, the plastic wads could easily have ended up in the river. Newer ammunition uses fibre wads, but up until 2014 the ammunition used had plastic wads. If Allen was right, thousands of plastic wads could have been washed down the Waitara River over the years. Allen also thought that some plastic wads may originate from gamebird hunters shooting ducks along streams and rivers throughout Taranaki. These hunters are required to use steel shot (rather than lead, which is toxic) and at present the only suitable wads are plastic, but he doubted that this was a significant source. Coastal Taranaki school students also found plastic shotgun wads while with Project Hotspot at the Waikerikeri Lagoon - Komene Rd
- Work can commence to these guidelines: Hours of work: Work must be undertaken in daylight hours only and finish at sunset as penguins will start to return at dusk. Therefore, no work should be undertaken before 7am and all works must cease by 7pm each day. Daily inspection: An inspection of work areas for penguins should occur before work begins each day. E.g. check in holes, spaces in temporary rock storage, any rock wall being reworked etc. Non-nesting birds may be moved to a safe nest box. NPDC should engage with an interested resident or someone from the NMPS who can check for penguins and nests periodically. Access to breeding sites. Maintain access to known penguin areas by avoiding continuous vertical barriers of >25cm. Any empty holes in the ground will require filling after checking. An escape route for the penguins shall be provided if necessary to leave open overnight. A form of access should be restored where the steps were located to give the penguins more options for moving between the sea to their nests sites as this is when they will be most vulnerable to disturbance and predation. Penguin nests: Nests that may be physically disturbed can be slowly moved if they contain post-guard chicks (>2 weeks old). Transfer chicks and nesting material to nest box and move 1-2m a day in a safe direction. Engaging a suitably qualified person from the NMPS is recommended for this activity. Non-breeding birds can be moved to nest box in safe location at any time.
- Pippit, White Heron, Black fronted dotterel, NZ Dotterel in breeding plumage flying and feeding at Waiwhakaiho / Oceanside. Plus others - Penguins, NZ Falcon – seems to be resident - but where?, Reef Heron, Pied Shag, Little Black Shag, Black Shag, Spoonbill Eastern Bar Tailed Godwit, White fronted Tern, Banded Dotterel… etc. Use the NatureWatch to look for the area and species. E.g. CoastBlitz New Plymouth - A Ruddy Turnstone has been seen at the Waiwhakaiho – Oct 15, 2016.
- To succeed with Citizen Science – we need Champions on the inside of decision-making organisations. Thank you for the support and interest – and the use of these tools.