Citizen Science Effectiveness among Sea Turtle Conservation Projects

Abstract

Citizen science for herpetology is a growing area for research and conservation. Sea turtle conservation efforts are made vastly easier with citizen scientists or volunteerism focusing on education and population protection. Citizen science projects for sea turtles in the U.S. concentrate on the nesting and hatching seasons of sea turtle species that find suitable habitat on coastal beaches. Life history information, species identification, crawl identification, and threat identification are some aspects of conservation that are addressed with citizen scientists. I reviewed four sea turtle conservation and research projects which include the North Carolina Sea Turtle Project, South Carolina DNR Marine Turtle Program, SEE Turtles, and State of the Worlds’ Sea Turtles. All projects involve volunteerism to some degree which include duties such as nest identification and monitoring, protection and relocation of nests or carcasses, and compiling and sharing data. Based on the projects evaluated, there is a calling for data, research, and conservation strategies to be shared among the global sea turtle conservation community. Volunteers provide extensive research projects with a variety of assistance.