Goal: Help identify and mitigate threats to seabirds by conducting surveys of Center Hill Beach.
Ages: All Ages (children younger than 16 would need parental supervision)
What would I do?: Walk the beach at Center Hill Preserve with our SEANet volunteer coordinator, Dodie Frank 1-2x a month, recording a variety of data including the presence of any beached (i.e. dead) seabirds. With additional training you could also conduct your own surveys.
Why is it important?: Seabirds can serve as indicators of the health of the marine ecosystem in that they face many global threats: disease, fisheries interactions, harmful algal blooms, contaminants such as heavy metals and pesticides, plastics, overfishing of seabird prey items, and climate change among them. SeaNet aims to bring together interdisciplinary researchers and members of the public in a long-term collaborative effort to provide information about bird mortality causes, spatial patterns, and variance across time.
Who to contact to get involved: Fill out this form or contact Dodie Frank ([email protected])
More information: https://www.citizenscience.gov/catalog/189/#