Hundreds of eyes watch the sea surrounding the Spanish coast. They capture practically everything that moves beneath the surface: fish, corals, algae, jellyfish, even rubbish, are recorded by volunteer divers who help detect any alterations that may occur in marine habitats, the appearance of invasive species, changes in the reproduction cycles of species or in their geographical distribution.
They are the participants in the citizen science platform Observadores del Mar (OdM), from the CSIC (Higher Council for Scientific Research), “focused on marine conservation, which involves citizens in tasks related to scientific research to have more eyes in many more areas and thus be able to learn about the changes and phenomena that are affecting marine biodiversity,” explains Gemma Agell, marine biologist at the CEAB (Blanes Advanced Studies Centre) and member of the ODM coordination team, in the area of Communication and Education in particular.
Citizen science
Citizen science is a scientific discipline “that was born many years ago, especially in Great Britain and English-speaking countries, to involve people who, due to their hobbies, have a close contact with nature and are very knowledgeable about the species and areas they observe. Their collaboration with scientific teams provides an added advantage for carrying out studies on behavioural changes, migrations, etc.,” says Agell.
The citizens who participate in Observadores del Mar are, above all, divers, who “sign up to the platform with their username and password, create their profile and decide which projects they want to participate in. From there, when they dive, they take the data (species, number of individuals, depth, geolocation, photos, etc.) and upload them to the platform,” explains Macarena Marambio, also a member of the OdM coordination team, in her case from the scientific area.
On one side of the platform are the volunteers, the citizens in short. On the other, the scientific teams that coordinate the currently 17 active projects dedicated to marine conservation and focused on five major areas: biodiversity, exotic species, endangered species, impacts and climate change.
Training and protocols
These two sides of the platform are what both Agell and Marambio highlight as OdM’s strong points: data collection follows defined protocols – “it’s not about going out and diving randomly and seeing what I see,” says Marambio – but rather, all divers receive prior training through diving centres or entities collaborating in the project; in addition, the dives are carried out in an organised manner and with specific objectives; thus, these data have a higher quality point when it comes to analysing and comparing them.
And that is the second part: the data is validated by the team of scientists who are experts in each subject, “which is different for each project,” Marambio points out. They identify whether the observation is correct or if there is an error. If something is not clear, “there is direct communication between the researcher and the person who uploaded the information to clarify doubts,” Agill stresses.
Over the 12 years the platform has been in operation, some 5,500 volunteers have made more than 20,000 observations, according to the Biodiversity Foundation, which supports the project.
The information collected is incorporated into various international databases, “to increase scientific knowledge. And it also reaches administrations, for the management and conservation of species or protected natural areas, etc.,” adds Agill.
OdM Climate Tour
Over the years, some projects have started, others have finished and others have evolved. Right now, the OdM Climate Tour is underway, which will monitor the Spanish Mediterranean coast to learn about the impact of climate change on its ecosystems. It will focus on four effects associated with warming: “seagrass meadows, fish and warming, jellyfish and corals,” explains Marambio. 50 diving centres are participating voluntarily and will be the largest network of observers in the Mediterranean. They receive our support and training, and they, in turn, train divers who want to collaborate with science.”
One of them is SuperDive, from Tossa de Mar, Girona. And it is also a sentinel observatory. A participation figure in OdM through which each organization collaborates with specific projects. «We,» explains Meri Alorda, one of its directors, «are in the shark and ray and seahorse programs. So, we ourselves are volunteers for the program and through us many divers participate who attend our activities. We are like a loudspeaker for the project.»
For Macarena Marambio, this is the third highlight of Observadores del Mar: “the voluntary and altruistic involvement of so many people is truly gratifying. They are people who do things for nothing and who are involved in generating change.”