The Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team or COASST has been around for 17 years. The team of volunteers is considered a citizen science project and the main hub of the program makes its home at the University of Washington.
COASST is a program that trains local people right in the home community. After the citizens have been trained, they promise to collect data from monthly surveys. They choose based on where they want to provide value. They can basically collect info on local beachcast birds, evidence of humans using the beaches, or debris that comes from the marine environment.
The data that is collected is used to create a baseline to watch the changes that are ocurring in the area. This lends real data to history, conservation, …show more content…
If there was any hope of seeing patterns, they would need more data. Without enough data on birds in coastal Washington as well as others along the coasts, the data was flawed and incomplete. She wanted to be able to develop a program that monitored live birds as well as carcasses. Between 1998 and 2000, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded her a grant, and a program director was hired.
Who Participates in the Surveys
There are many volunteers from young children to retired senior citizens. The volunteers don't have years of education, research grants, or specialized knowledge. The volunteers all have a love of the coast as well as the passion for making sure that the coasts are cared for with the data provided.
Volunteers are called COASSters. They are people just like you who are walking their local beaches on a regular basis. If you want to learn more about natural marine resources around your local waters, you can become a participant. There are training materials and after a few hours of study and training, the volunteers are ready to head out with their …show more content…
It's gathered into reports and news alerts. In 2014 to 2015, there was a massive number of bird carcasses in and around Pacific Beach, Washington. Over 400 Cassin's Auklets had washed onto the shore on that beach. Over 544 at Peter Iredale North, 145 at North Surfside, and 200 at Tsoo-Yess North. There were hundreds more over the year. With the data collected as a baseline, scientists were able to come up with a few possible reasons for the mass deaths. It ended up being a loss of food due to warming waters as well as storms and the amount of young birds finding less food. The entire update is available online in a PDF.
COASST is a program that trains local people right in the home community. After the citizens have been trained, they promise to collect data from monthly surveys. They choose based on where they want to provide value. They can basically collect info on local beachcast birds, evidence of humans using the beaches, or debris that comes from the marine environment.
The data that is collected is used to create a baseline to watch the changes that are ocurring in the area. This lends real data to history, conservation, …show more content…
If there was any hope of seeing patterns, they would need more data. Without enough data on birds in coastal Washington as well as others along the coasts, the data was flawed and incomplete. She wanted to be able to develop a program that monitored live birds as well as carcasses. Between 1998 and 2000, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation awarded her a grant, and a program director was hired.
Who Participates in the Surveys
There are many volunteers from young children to retired senior citizens. The volunteers don't have years of education, research grants, or specialized knowledge. The volunteers all have a love of the coast as well as the passion for making sure that the coasts are cared for with the data provided.
Volunteers are called COASSters. They are people just like you who are walking their local beaches on a regular basis. If you want to learn more about natural marine resources around your local waters, you can become a participant. There are training materials and after a few hours of study and training, the volunteers are ready to head out with their …show more content…
It's gathered into reports and news alerts. In 2014 to 2015, there was a massive number of bird carcasses in and around Pacific Beach, Washington. Over 400 Cassin's Auklets had washed onto the shore on that beach. Over 544 at Peter Iredale North, 145 at North Surfside, and 200 at Tsoo-Yess North. There were hundreds more over the year. With the data collected as a baseline, scientists were able to come up with a few possible reasons for the mass deaths. It ended up being a loss of food due to warming waters as well as storms and the amount of young birds finding less food. The entire update is available online in a PDF.