Document: CHR-3-28-2

Involving the public in long-term research: An educational solution to the problem of funding open-ended studies in population biology.

RAY, C.*

Bristlecone Institute for Ecological Research, Golden, CO 80403 USA ¹

Abstract:
Many important questions in population biology require long-term research that is difficult to fund. Answering questions about the genetic effects of demography or the demographic effects of genetic diversity will require long-term demographic and genetic censusing of natural populations. Fortunately, census-based research invites public participation. With a group of paying volunteers, a researcher can support and carry out many forms of simple periodic censusing and genetic sampling. This partnership creates perpetual funding for population studies, while educating non-scientists and creating new stakeholders in ecological research. Many organizations attract paying volunteers for miscellaneous studies in ecology, anthropology and archeology. Others use volunteers to conduct specific censuses. Building on these models, it's time for an institute to harness public support for long-term research in population biology. This institute should have many functions beyond the recruitment of volunteers. Its mission should include a) integration and peer review of participant research projects, b) synthesis and dissemination of results from participant projects and from the literature on long-term population studies, c) development of resources for time-series analysis and modeling of spatially complex data, and d) identification of historic censuses that should be revived. This poster details the institute and invites input on its further development.

Keywords: censusing, demography, genetics, population time-series

This abstract is being presented at: 3:30 PM in session:
Poster Session #3: Education.