Teacher and Student Perspectives on Citizen Science - Distribution and Habitat of the Pigmy Short-horned Lizard in Washington State: A Case Study
Diane Petersen, Jessica Day, Janelle Miranda, CJ Potter, Waterville Elementary School, Waterville, WA.
Before the 4th grade class at Waterville Elementary School began collecting data in 1997, there were fewer than 100 documented Short-horned lizard (Phrynosoma douglasii) sightings for Washington State. Data and supporting literature showed that the lizards occur only on undeveloped land. In just a few years the Adopt-a-Farmer Project, partnering farmers and students have quadrupled the amount of sightings on the Waterville Plateau, dominated by multi-generation dryland wheat farms interspersed with dry streambeds, dirt roads and scab patches (e.g., a mixture of basalt bedrock, dirt, and sagebrush). Thirty-nine farmers have reported 314 individuals from 290 locations. Sixty-nine percent of the lizards were reported within farm fields, 16% along dirt roads bisecting the fields, 3% in dry streambeds, and 7% in the scab patches. The rest were found around farmer’s homes. Farmers bring their data forms to the school each fall. The process began with students marking locations on topographic maps and progressed to digitizing the locations onto digital orthophotos of the farmer’s lands using GIS. The rest of the data are entered into a spreadsheet, submitted to NatureMapping’s database, and linked to the GIS maps where students produce maps for their adopted farmer. Student and scientist questions drive the emphasis for each year’s work. Food preference, how lizards overwinter, and behavioral studies have been conducted, and presented at professional conferences. The current research focus is radio-collaring lizards. Students will assess their range, and during the winter locate where they hibernate and if they freeze. A local graduate student will help the students with the telemetry work while comparing the difference between native and farm habitat usage. Scientist and technical support come from The NatureMapping Program. Waterville Elementary began NatureMapping in 1993 and helps our junior scientists work with senior scientists.
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