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	Vol. 15, No. 1		Summer 2010

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Quality Counts

Comparing Volunteer Lake Data with the “Pro’s”

By Scott Williams

The term “Citizen Scientist” is increasingly used to describe volunteers who have received special training to gather a particular type of data, but who are not scientists by profession. Sound familiar? If you’re a certified volunteer lake monitor with the Maine VLMP, you are a “CS”.

In recent years, it has become clear that the professional scientific community does not, and in all probability, will not have the resources necessary to gather the data to help find and implement solutions leading to the long-term protection and sustainability of our lakes.

This problem was addressed in a broader context in a 2009 report of the National Science Foundation’s Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, in which the recommendation was made that the scientific community engage Citizen Scientists (aka: volunteer monitors) in both the collection and interpretation of data.

You should know that it is not unusual for professionals to challenge the validity of scientific data gathered by volunteers. However, a USEPA study in 1990 noted that many studies have consistently shown that volunteer data are reliable, provided that the volunteers have been properly trained, and that the entity overseeing the training and gathering of the data has developed and follows appropriate quality assurance standards. The Maine VLMP clearly defines such standards in a document developed jointly with the Maine DEP. This “Quality Assurance Project Plan”, or QAPP, can be viewed on the VLMP and Maine DEP websites. The QAPP is designed for anyone who gathers lake data in Maine, including agency lake scientists, consultants, and volunteer monitors.

In 2002, the Florida Lakewatch program, which is similar to Maine’s VLMP, compared data gathered by volunteer monitors to side-by-side data gathered by professional biologists. The study compared volunteer and professional data for a number of lake quality indicators, including Secchi depth and total phosphorus (Figures below).

The results of this study validated the volunteer data, which correlates very strongly with the professional data. The graphs above illustrate how just how close the results were for the volunteer and professional data. The “Citizen’s Secchi Depth” vs. “Professional Biologist’s Secchi Depth” plot show a correlation coefficient (R2 on the graph) of 0.99 —a nearly perfect match! The “Citizen’s Total Phosphorus” vs. “Professional Biologist’s Total Phosphorus” plot shows a coefficient of 0.97, which is also VERY close.

This will come as no surprise to Maine VLMP volunteers, all of whom are required to attend training and recertification workshops, at which their sampling protocol/techniques, Secchi readings and other measurements are compared to those of VLMP and DEP professional staff. The results of those workshops consistently demonstrate that volunteer data are comparable with professionals—and that they are also very reliable
The Florida study concluded that “well-trained volunteers and laboratory staff following basic research protocols with good clean techniques can provide environmental water quality data that are extremely reliable at far less costs.” The study also concluded that “Citizen Scientists can help find and implement solutions leading to long-term environmental sustainability.”

The level of commitment and passion that we observe over and over in volunteer monitors from Maine, Florida, and throughout the country, is due, in part to the fact that they are working to protect, in Dan Canfield’s words: “My Lake”. All of Maine’s Great Ponds are owned by the citizens and State of Maine, of course. But what we are talking about here is a volunteer who has a special affinity to a particular waterbody, and feels a certain responsibility to protect it as his or her own. Such a person is especially well suited to a job that requires lake, diligence, and didication.

So, Volunteer Lake Monitors, whether you are taking Secchi disk readings, dissolved oxygen and temperature profiles, phosphorus samples, or screening your lake for aquatic invaders: the data that you gather are REAL and they are scientifically VALID, and this information is essential to the long-term sustainability of Maine’s lakes and ponds.

Scott Williams adapted this article from a paper entitled: Engaging the “Citizen Scientist” in Environmental Research: The Florida Lakewatch Story, authored by Daniel E, Canfield, Jr, and Roger W. Bachman at the University of Florida

Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program

vlmp@mainevlmp.org
24 Maple Hill Road, Auburn, ME 04210
(207) 783-7733
www.MaineVolunteerLakeMonitors.org
copyright 2010 Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program | website comments to: vlmp@mainevlmp.org