Hero Image

Northern CA PPSR Projects 1

Return to Main Additional Participatory Science Projects

Welcome to our ongoing effort to catalog citizen science and other public participation in scientific research (PPSR) projects for UC California Naturalists and other citizen scientists.  We invite you to browse the listed projects or enter key words (like birds, youth, invasive, coast, Alameda, etc.) in the search box above to find projects in your area. It's a great way to stay involved and keep developing your skills as a natural scientist!

A vast majority of the information in the database was gathered from project websites and may be out of date. We encourage you to contact projects directly to get involved and learn about most recent opportunities. If you work with a listed project and would like to add to, update, or correct the information we have, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu. Also, please consider filling out the "PPSR perspectives" survey. Click here to access the survey, which will help guide this project in the coming year.

If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!

Special thanks goes to the National Science Foundation Informal Science Education program and the Stephen J. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation for supporting this database of projects.

Humboldt Bay Goose Study

  • Organization Name
    Humbolt State University
  • Project Website
  • Organization Website
  • Partners
    N / A
  • Contact Name
    Jeff Black, PhD, DSc
  • Contact Email
    Jeff.Black@humboldt.edu
  • Contact Phone
    (707)826-3439
  • Other Contact Information
    N / A
  • Project Purpose (taken from project materials)

    Gather data that will be useful to policy makers when addressing socio-political issues dealing with the geese in the Arcata area. There are four initial operational objectives.

    • assess habitat preferences and diet in all seasons
    • determine habitat characteristics of roosts, nests and brood-rearing sites
    • determine energy budget in relation to disturbance (natural and human mediated)
    • determine carrying capacity of habitats
    • assess response of goose plant-foods to grazing and fertilizing from goose droppings
    • determine fate of broods & lifetime reproduction of marked birds
    • determine movement of marked individuals throughout range

    The HSU waterfowl research group will also address questions dealing with traditional use of sites, mate choice, divorce, pair bond tenacity, extra-pair behavior, adoption and parental care.

  • Participant Activities

    Participants (primarily HSU students) will be encouraged to record the location of foraging flocks and individually marked geese. Participants use online data sheet to input observation data, including habitat, color banding, flock size, fat scores, marker number, etc.

  • Data Entry
    • Website
    • Data Sheets
  • Other Participant Activities
    N / A
  • System Studied
    • Birds
  • Geographic Scope
    Local
  • Region
    Humboldt
  • Location
    Fields, marshes and other habitat in the Arcata area
  • Location - Map
    1 Harpst Street, Arcata, CA 95521
  • Time Commitment
    • Unknown
  • Volunteer Qualifications

    HSU students are main participants of the project. In particular, participation is encouraged from students in Waterfowl 420, Wildlife Techniques 311, and Wildlife Ethology 475.

    Contact project leader if you are not a student and would like to participate.

  • Volunteer Training

    Project is associated with a number of HSU courses. Education and training materials are also available online, including a site to practice identification by scientific name: http://www.humboldt.edu/wildlife/faculty/black/courses_420waterfowlid.html

  • Cost to Participant
    N / A
  • How will the findings be used?

    Papers published from project data are posted on the project website.

  • Other Information
    N / A
  • Photo
    N / A
  • last update:
    8/28/12

If you work with this project and would like to add to or update the information below, please email cghdixon@ucdavis.edu.

If you know of a project not on our list, please go to the "tell us about a project" link on the left so we can list the project here. Thanks for your help!

This database is focused on projects in California focused on the environment. For opportunities outside California, as well as national projects that don't have a California-specific components, check http://www.birds.cornell.edu/citscitoolkit/projects.