How are Vital Signs participants using the Explore tools - explore, map, sort & export - to help find answers to research questions, satisfy curiosities, keep tabs on certain species, or put observations in a larger and more meaningful context? Here are some of the stories we’ve heard. Let us know how you are exploring data and making meaning. We'll share your story.
An inquisitive grade 7 student in Kennebec County heard on the news that Purple loosestrife is a species of growing concern in Maine's wetland habitats, and that scientists had released a non-native beetle in southern Maine to help control its spread. She wondered if loosestrife was a concern further north.
On the Explore data page, she did an Advanced Search for keywords “Fairfield" and “loosestrife" to see if anyone had looked for purple loosestrife in her town. Not yet! She decided she would go look for it herself near the streams, wetlands, and gardens near her house and submit the first loosestrife data from Fairfield.
A citizen scientist passionate about the Androscoggin River watershed has kept track over the years of species living along the river bank near his house. Every year Japanese knotweed and shrub honeysuckle cover more area and displace another native species. Native wintergreen lost ground three years ago, Lowbush blueberry two years ago…. He wondered whether this slow decline of native diversity in the critical buffer region between the river and road was happening all along the Androscoggin.
He decided to check out the Vital Signs map. He used the map table and map to locate places where Japanese knotweed and shrub honeysuckle had been found. He left a comment for each data collector asking them to please collect data on the native species they see near these invasive species. That way they can all keep track of how biodiversity is changing from year to year.
A University of Maine graduate student pays close attention to new Vital Signs observations on Maine lakes, and subscribes to new postings by participants known for their work with aquatic plants.
As she looked through some recent observations, she noticed that a number of data collectors were confusing the native milfoil species with the invasive milfoil species. When she first started her lake research she had had trouble telling the two apart herself, but had discovered a few tricks that she wanted to share with the Vital Signs community.
On the species observation detail page for each of the milfoil observations, she suggested a new ID, and left a comment explaining the characteristics she uses to tell the native and invasive species apart.
A middle school math & science teacher and his students in Piscataquis County are doing a multi-year study to see if a new housing development will impact the water quality of their local swimming pond. Before construction started, they did water quality testing and a bioassessment of the macroinvertebrates in the pond in March, April, and May.
Students published their data to Vital Signs, and then looked at it in the data table. They exported their data to Excel where they graphed their pH, dissolved oxygen, and temperature measurements over time. They made bar charts that showed the number of each macroinvertebrate they found, and color-coded the bars to reflect each species’ pollution tolerance. Students will do the same study after construction is complete to see if and how the water quality has changed.
A Massachusetts family visits a quaint seaside cottage in midcoast Maine each summer. The kids spend hours in the tide pools, and last summer started a game to see who could find the most animals and plants each day. Their parents ultimately got wind of their daily, increasingly heated competition. It was getting intense and ruining an otherwise restful vacation. They didn’t want to stifle their kids’ exploration, but wanted to somehow shift their energy in a more cooperative direction.
From ideas and suggestions gleaned from this page, Analyze data, and the Open Resource Exchange, they found some neat ways for their kids to work together and play with the observations they were making each day. They started comparing the number of invasive green crabs they found to the number of native rock crabs; they tried to look for more species in their tide pools than another Vital Signs user had looked for 10 miles away; they looked for species that they had never seen before. Sibling rivalry averted, the family resumed their restful Maine vacation.
A 7th grade teacher & his students were excited that they caught a crayfish at their stream site in northern Aroostook County, but were equally as frustrated that it was so hard to identify. He explained to his students that a Vital Signs species expert would help with the identification if they provided written & photo evidence. They published their observation, and waited to be notified by email that their identification had been reviewed by an expert.
Crayfish expert Dr Karen Wilson was impressed with the detailed written and photo evidence the students had published. Through the Suggest an ID box and her comments, she told them it was a native Spinycheek crayfish and encouraged them to share their impressive photography techniques with the rest of the Vital Signs community.
The students shot a How-to video that carefully demonstrated their technique for taking clear macro photos of the male reproductive structures experts use to identify crayfish. She uploaded her students’ video to a video-sharing website, and created a link in the Project Bank for others to watch and learn from. In the discussion forum, the teacher had his students explain how they gathered pertinent evidence about crayfish and crafted their evidence statements.
So how are you exploring and making meaning of data? Tell us. Let's get your story on this page!
