D3221: Using community science to access traditional ecological knowledge and generate community-led scientific investigations

Monday, November 11, 2024

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, Exhibit Hall 6, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

DC

David Hassan Canseco Vielma

Student researcher
University of California
Redlands, California

Co-Author(s)

Eric O. Stiner

Associate Researcher
California Academy of Sciences
San Juanico, Baja California Sur, Mexico
LE

Lauren Esposito

CAS
San Francisco, California

Natural history museums and scientific institutions have long collected specimens in biodiverse regions, often storing them in faraway cabinets with relatively little connection to the local communities from which those specimens came. Given the ongoing loss of biodiversity worldwide, community-involved collection efforts from remote biodiversity hotspots could prove to be integral to modern biodiversity studies. The mutual benefit of utilizing nuanced local knowledge in biodiversity assessments, while building equitable relationships between science and the local communities situated at the study site could benefit our understanding of and ability to conduct biodiversity research. Data collection for this project uses principles of community science and community listening in order to direct future scientific investigations while at the same time assessing local concerns about environmental change. Our study was conducted on 12 remote ranches in the rugged central Baja Peninsula (Baja California Sur, Mexico). Recorded conversations were transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis methods. The resulting themes that emerged were then evaluated for co-created research projects aimed at understanding arthropod diversity and community-generated questions. We hope this work can serve as a new model for advancing natural history research in a way that incorporates the knowledge, interests, and concerns of the local community as an integral part of the mission of biodiversity studies.