Abstract
Citizen science is an innovative approach that relies on non-specialists to monitor species and ecosystems over long time periods and vast geographical areas. Citizen science has been used extensively in marine science to monitor endangered species such as sharks and marine turtles, coral reefs and their associated fish species, marine mammals, invasive species and, more recently, coral bleaching and marine litter. Engaging people over the long term can be challenging but using social media, gamification, and emphasizing the value of volunteer contributions through data sharing, can help to keep communities motivated. In the Red Sea, there is enormous potential for using citizen science in monitoring endangered species and ecosystems due to the presence of a fleet of safari boats and dive centres going to sea daily. Engaging with this sector and creating long lasting partnerships for data collection through simple protocols could be a winning approach to obtain important information from remote areas and/or on rare species. In this chapter, we present the preliminary results of a citizen science program targeting marine turtles in their feeding grounds in the Egyptian Red Sea waters that was conducted from 2011 to 2013. During the study period 2,448 surveys were completed at 157 sites and included a total of 1,038 sightings of turtles. The most commonly observed species were hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) and green (Chelonia mydas) turtles; however, rarer species, such as loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and olive ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) turtles were also recorded. Among the sites that were monitored, some were considered as important for turtles (i.e., had a high probability of observing a turtle), while in others, turtles were not observed despite carrying out multiple surveys. Participants reported turtles of various sizes and ages with adults and sub-adults being the predominant observed age class. The presence of adults seemed to be related to the nesting season (May–September), which was also when the survey effort was higher. Adult male turtles were observed on various occasions, providing important input on their whereabouts during nesting and non-nesting seasons. Finally, participants detected behaviour that had not been previously described in the region, such as courting and mating. Results from TurtleWatch Egypt provided new insight in our knowledge of marine turtles in the Red Sea, especially from the largely under-studied feeding grounds.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Attum O, Kramer A, Mahmoud T, Fouda M (2014) Post-nesting migrations patterns of Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) from the Egyptian Red Sea. Zool Middle East 60(4):299–305
Bell J (2007) The use of volunteers for conducting sponge biodiversity assessment and monitoring using a morphological approach on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Aquat Conserv Mar Freshw Ecosyst 17:133–145
Bell CD, Blumenthal JM, Austin TJ, Ebanks-Petrie G, Broderick AC, Godley BJ (2008) Harnessing recreational divers for the collection of sea turtle data around the Cayman Islands. Tour Mar Environ 5:245–257
Bird TJ, Bates AE, Lefcheck JS, Hill NA, Thomson RJ, Edgar GJ, Stuart-Smith RD, Wotherspoon S, Krkosek M, Stuart-Smith JF, Pecl GT (2014) Statistical solutions for error and bias in global citizen science datasets. Biol Conserv 173:144–154
Bjorndal KA (1999) Priorities for research in foraging habitats. Research and management techniques for the conservation of sea Turtles. IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication no. 4, pp 12–14
Bjorndal KA (1997) Foraging ecology and nutrition of sea turtles. Biol Sea Turt 1:199–231
Bjorndal KA, Jackson JB (2002) 10 roles of sea turtles in marine ecosystems: reconstructing the past. Biol Sea Turt 2:259
Bonfil R, Abdallah M (2004) Field identification guide to the sharks and rays of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome, 71 p
Bonter DN, Cooper CB (2012) Data validation in citizen science: a case study from Project FeederWatch. Front Ecol Environ 10(6):305–307
Branchini S, Pensa F, Neri P, Tonucci BM, Mattielli L, Collavo A, Sillingardi ME, Piccinetti C, Zaccanti F, Goffredo S (2015) Using a citizen science program to monitor coral reef biodiversity through space and time. Biodivers Conserv 24(2):319–336
Brill RW, Balazs GH, Holland KN, Chang RK, Sullivan S, George JC (1995) Daily movements, habitat use, and submergence intervals of normal and tumor-bearing juvenile green turtles (Chelonia mydas L.) within a foraging area in the Hawaiian Islands. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 185(2):203–218
Brossard D, Lewenstein B, Bonney R (2005) Scientific knowledge and attitude change: the impact of a citizen science project. Int J Sci Educ 27(9):1099–1121
Costa M, Fumagalli M, Cesario A (this volume) Review of cetaceans in the Red Sea
Crall AW, Newman G, Stohlgren TJ, Holfelder KA, Graham J, Waller DM (2011) Assessing citizen science data quality: a case study. Conserv Lett 4:433–442
Crowley DN, Breslin JG, Corcoran P, Young K (2012) Gamification of citizen sensing through mobile social reporting. In: 2012 IEEE international games innovation conference (IGIC), pp 1–5
Darg DW, Kaviraj S, Lintott CJ, Schawinski K, Silk J, Lynn S, Bamford S, Nichol RC (2011) Galaxy zoo: multi-mergers and the millennium simulation. Mon Not R Astron Soc 416(3):1745–1755
Darwall WRT, Dulvy NK (1996) An evaluation of the suitability of non-specialist volunteer researchers for coral reef fish surveys. Mafia Island, Tanzania—a case study. Biol Conserv 78:223–231
Delaney DG, Sperling CD, Adams CS, Leung B (2008) Marine invasive species: validation of citizen science and implications for national monitoring networks. Biol Invasions 10(1):117–128
Dickinson JL, Zuckerberg B, Bonter DN (2010) Citizen science as an ecological research tool: challenges and benefits. Ann Rev Ecol Evolut Syst 41:149–172
Edgar GJ, Stuart-Smith RD (2009) Ecological effects of marine protected areas on rocky reef communities; A continental-scale analysis. Mar Ecol Prog Ser 388:51–62
Elsadek I (2016) Ecological studies on marine turtles on their nesting and feeding grounds in the southern Egyptian Red Sea. M.Sc. Thesis, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt, 188 p
Finn PG, Udy NS, Baltais SJ, Price K, Coles L (2010) Assessing the quality of seagrass data collected by community volunteers in Moreton Bay Marine Park, Australia. Environ Conserv 37(01):83–89
FitzSimmons NN, Tucker AD, Limpus CJ (1995) Long-term breeding histories of male green turtles and fidelity to a breeding ground. Mar Turt Newsl 68:2–4
Frazier J, Salas S (1984) The status of marine turtles in the Egyptian Red Sea. Biol Conserv 30(1):41–67
Gaos AR, Lewison RL, Yañez IL, Wallace BP, Liles MJ, Nichols WJ, Baquero A, Hasbún CR, Vasquez M, Urteaga J, Seminoff JA (2011) Shifting the life-history paradigm: discovery of novel habitat use by hawksbill turtles. Biol Lett 8(1):54–56. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2011.0603
Gladstone W, Curley B, Shokri MR (2013) Environmental impacts of tourism in the Gulf and the Red Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 72(2):375–388
Gladstone W, Krupp F, Younis M (2003) Development and management of a network of marine protected areas in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden region. Ocean Coast Manag 46:741–761
Goffredo S, Piccinetti C, Zaccanti F (2004) Volunteers in marine conservation monitoring: a study on the distribution of seahorses carried out in collaboration with recreational scuba divers. Conserv Biol 18:1492–1503
Hanafy MH (2012) Nesting of marine turtles on the Egyptian beaches of the Red Sea. Egypt J Aquat Biol Fish 16(2):59–71
Hanafy M, Gheny HA, Rouphael AB, Salam A, Fouda M (2006) The dugong (Dugong dugon) in Egyptian waters: distribution, relative abundance and threats. Zool Middle East 39:17–24
Head SM (1987) Red Sea fisheries. In: Edwards AJ, Head SM (eds) Red Sea: key environments. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 363–382
Hedges LV, Tipton E, Johnson MC (2010) Robust variance estimation in metaregression with dependent effect size estimates. Res Synth Meth 1:39–65
Henwood TA (1987) Movements and seasonal changes in loggerhead turtle Caretta caretta aggregations in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral, Florida (1978–84). Biol Conserv 40(3):191–202
HEPCA (2011) Red Sea turtle conservation and research project—annual report 2011. Hurghada, Egypt, 99 p
Hidalgo-Ruz V, Thiel M (2013) Distribution and abundance of small plastic debris on beaches in the SE Pacific (Chile): a study supported by a citizen science project. Mar Environ Res 87:12–18
Hussey NE, Stroh N, Klaus R, Chekchak T, Kessel ST (2013) SCUBA diver observations and placard tags to monitor grey reef sharks, Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos, at Sha’ab Rumi, The Sudan: assessment and future directions. J Mar Biol Assoc UK 93(02):299–308
Koch V, Nichols WJ, Peckham H, de la Toba V (2006) Estimates of sea turtle mortality from poaching and bycatch in Bahia Magdalena, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Biol Conserv 128(3):327–334
Koss RS, Miller K, Wescott G, Bellgrove A, Boxshall A, McBurnie J, Bunce A, Gilmour P, Ierodiaconou D (2009) An evaluation of Sea Search as a citizen science programme in Marine Protected Areas. Pac Conserv Biol 15(2):116–127
LeBaron G (2007) Audubon’s Christmas bird count from 19th century conservation action to 21st century citizen science. Citizen Science Toolkit Conference, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, June 2007, 8 p
Losey JE, Perlman JE, Hoebeke R (2007) Citizen scientist rediscovers rare nine-spotted lady beetle, Coccinella novemnotata, in eastern North America. J Insect Conserv 11:415–417
Makowski C, Seminoff JA, Salmon M (2006) Home range and habitat use of juvenile Atlantic green turtles (Chelonia mydas L.) on shallow reef habitats in Palm Beach, Florida, USA. Mar Biol 148(5):1167–1179
Mancini A, Elsadek I, Elawany M (2015a) Marine turtles of the Red Sea. In: Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer Earth Systems Sciences, Heidelberg, pp 551–565
Mancini A, Elsadek I, Madon B (2015b) When simple is better: comparing two sampling methods to estimate green turtles abundance at coastal feeding grounds. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 465:113–120
Marshall NJ, Kleine DA, Dean AJ (2012) CoralWatch: education, monitoring, and sustainability through citizen science. Front Ecol Environ 10(6):332–334
McGowan KJ, Zuckerberg B (2008) Summary of results. In: McGowan KJ, Corwin K (eds) The second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, pp 15–42
Montagna M, Taher AR, Mancini A (2017) Commbining citizen science and photo-identification to monitor a key green turtle feeding ground in the Southern Egyptian Red Sea. African Sea Turtle Newsletter, 7: 8-15
Newman G, Wiggins A, Crall A, Graham E, Newman S, Crowston K (2012) The future of citizen science: emerging technologies and shifting paradigms. Front Ecol Environ 10(6):298–304
Pereira HM, Belnap J, Brummitt N, Collen B, Ding H, Gonzalez-Espinosa M, Gregory RD, Honrado J, Jongman RHG, Julliard R, McRae L, Proença V, Rodrigues P, Opige M, Rodriguez JP, Schmeller DS, Van Swaay C, Vieira C (2010) Global biodiversity monitoring. Front Ecol Environ 8(9):459–460
PERSGA/GEF (2004a) Regional Action plan for the conservation of marine turtles and their habitats in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA, Jeddah
PERSGA/GEF (2004b) Standard survey methods for key habitats and key species in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. PERSGA Technical Series No. 10. PERSGA, Jeddah
PERSGA (2010) The status of coral reefs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden: 2009. PERSGA Technical Series Number 16, PERSGA, Jeddah
Pocock MJO, Chapman DS, Sheppard LJ, Roy HE (2014) Choosing and using citizen science: a guide to when and how to use citizen science to monitor biodiversity and the environment. Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK
Ragab A (2015) Regional tourism statistics in Egypt. In: Fifteenth meeting committee on statistics and TSA UNWTO headquarters, Madrid, Spain, 13–14 January 2015. http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/item_12_agenda_egypt.pdf
Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF, Nawab ZA (2015) Introduction to the Red Sea: its origin, structure, and environment. In: Rasul NMA, Stewart ICF (eds) The Red Sea: the formation, morphology, oceanography and environment of a young ocean basin. Springer Earth System Sciences, Heidelberg, pp 1–23
Schwartz M, Betancourt J, Weltzin J (2012) From Caprio’s lilacs to the USA National Phenology Network. Front Ecol Environ 10:324–327
Silvertown J (2009) A new dawn for citizen science. Trends Ecol Evol 24(9):467–471
Socientize (2013) Green paper on Citizen Science for Europe: towards a society of empowered citizens and enhanced research. http://www.socientize.eu/sites/default/files/Green%20Paper%20on%20Citizen%20Science%202013.pdf. Accessed June 2016
Sullivan BL, Aycrigg JL, Barry JH, Bonney RE, Bruns N, Cooper CB, Damoulas T, Dhondt AA, Dietterich T, Farnsworth A, Fink D, Fitzpatrick JW, Fredericks T, Gerbracht J, Gomes C, Hochachka WM, Iliff MJ, Lagoze C, La Sorte FA, Merrifield M, Morris W, Phillips TB, Reynolds M, Rodewald AD, Rosenberg KV, Trautmann NM, Wiggins A, Winkler DW, Wong W-K, Wood CL, Yu J, Kelling S (2014) The eBird enterprise: an integrated approach to development and application of citizen science. Biol Conserv 169:31–40
Theobald EJ, Ettinger AK, Burgess HK, DeBey LB, Schmidt NR, Froehlich HE, Wagner C, HilleRisLambers J, Tewksbury J, Harsch MA, Parrish JK (2015) Global change and local solutions: tapping the unrealized potential of citizen science for biodiversity research. Biol Conserv 181:236–244
Tulloch AIT, Possingham HP, Joseph LN, Szabo J, Martin TG (2013) Realising the full potential of citizen science monitoring programs. Biol Conserv 165:128–138
Vianna GM, Meekan MG, Bornovski TH, Meeuwig JJ (2014) Acoustic telemetry validates a citizen science approach for monitoring sharks on coral reefs. PLoS One 9(4):e95565. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0095565
Wallace BP, DiMatteo AD, Bolten AB, Chaloupka MY, Hutchinson BJ, Abreu-Grobois FA, Mortimer JA, Seminoff JA, Amorocho D, Bjorndal KA, Bourjea J et al (2011) Global conservation priorities for marine turtles. PLoS One 6(9):e24510. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0024510
Ward-Page CA, Mora C, Lotze HK, Pattengill-Semmens C, McClenachan L, Arias-Castro E, Myers RA (2010) Large-scale absence of sharks on reefs in the greater Caribbean: a footprint of human pressures. PLoS One 5:e11968. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0011968
Williams JL, Pierce SJ, Fuentes MM, Hamann M (2015) Effectiveness of recreational divers for monitoring sea turtle populations. Endanger Species Res 26(3):209–219
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Lindsay and Beverly from Shark Bay Umbi Village, Cath Bates from Camel Dive, H2O, Sarah and Sarah from Red Sea Diving Safari, TGI Marsa Alam, TGI Gouna, Red Sea Diving College, Big Blue Dahab, and Wadi Gimal Diving Center. The authors would like to thank Dr. Amina Cesario, Dr. Jill Hudgins, Dr. Omar Attum and Dr. Mahmoud Hanafy for providing comments to earlier drafts of this manuscript. Special thanks to all the volunteers and divers that spent time recording their sightings of turtles and sharing their pictures. This chapter is dedicated to the memory of Mr. Amr Ali, Managing Director of HEPCA, who spent his life protecting the Red Sea, its natural resources and its people.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Mancini, A., Elsadek, I.M. (2019). The Role of Citizen Science in Monitoring Megafauna of the Red Sea. In: Rasul, N., Stewart, I. (eds) Oceanographic and Biological Aspects of the Red Sea. Springer Oceanography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_28
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-99417-8_28
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-99416-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-99417-8
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)