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A vast majority of the information in the database was gathered from project websites and may be out of date.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.
Fresno Bird Count ( FBC) project
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Organization NameReconciliation Ecology Lab
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Project Website
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Organization WebsiteN / A
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PartnersN / A
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Contact NameFBC Project Coordinator, Bradley Schleder
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Contact Emailaphelocoma@fresnobirds.org
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Contact Phone(599) 623-9495 (home/voicemail)
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Other Contact Information
Department of Biology, M/S SB73
2555 E San Ramon Avenue
California State University, Fresno
Fresno, CA 93740-8034 -
Project Purpose (taken from project materials)
This project addresses the impacts of urbanization on the distribution and abundance of birds species in Fresno, California. Urbanization is among the biggest conservation challenges of this century, for cities increasingly dominate the landscape, with ecological effects reaching well beyond their boundaries. Urbanization affects the distribution and abundance of wildlife throughout the world, with birds being conspicuous examples, but our understanding of the underlying processes remains highly inadequate.
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Participant Activities
The FBC is dedicated to mapping the distribution and abundance of bird species within the city of Fresno. Volunteers are needed to spend one morning, of their choice, between April 15th - May 15th (Spring Count) and/or Dec 15th - Jan 15th (Winter Count) collecting data from selected locations in Fresno and Clovis. Ideally, volunteers would then input their data directly into an online database.
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Data Entry
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Data Sheets
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Other Participant ActivitiesN / A
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System Studied
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Birds
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Geographic ScopeLocal
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RegionFresno
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LocationWithin the city of Fresno, CA.
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Location - MapDepartment of Biology, M/S SB73 2555 E San Ramon Avenue California State University, Fresno Fresno, CA 93740-8034
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Time Commitment
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Specific dates (see Other Information below)
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Volunteer Qualifications
Participation requires the skills not only to identify at least the 20 most common local bird species by both sight and sound, but also the ability to quickly identify more uncommon species with a field guide.
Equipment Checklist:
transportation (car or bike for areas with roads, boots for more ‘remote’ areas)
GPS unit (recommended)
binoculars
pencil or pen with dark ink
watch with second hand timer
field guide
clipboard
FBC instructions, route map, and data sheets
FBC business card
water, sunscreen, hat, etc. -
Volunteer TrainingN / A
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Cost to ParticipantN / A
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How will the findings be used?
FBC data will be utilized in a variety of ways. By monitoring the changes of species diversity and abundance over time we can gain a better understanding of the ecology of our local bird populations. Insights provided by these data will also allow for better decision making regarding local land use and urban development.
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Other InformationN / A
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PhotoN / A
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last update:N / A
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.