(January 22, 2020) --
The Dauphin Island Sea Lab's newest citizen science program, CAMEO, gives you a chance to be a part of collecting data for science. CAMEO stands for Citizen’s Archive for Mobile Bay Estuarine Organisms. Data collected through the program will enable scientists at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and beyond to answer questions about and understand how Mobile Bay is changing over time.
In citizen science programs, people interested in learning more about science and participating in scientific research are able to do so.
CAMEO is being introduced in conjunction with Discovery Hall Programs, the DISL’s K-12 education program. Each year, DHP educators take school students on more than 120 boat trips, trawling once or twice per trip. These trawls allow students an in-the-hands look (and feel and smell) at fishes and invertebrates common in the Mobile Bay estuary. These trips also represent a tremendous opportunity to collect frequent data about the presence and abundance of specific animals of the bay. However, to make that happen interested citizens are needed to sign on as volunteers.
If you are interested in making your Dauphin Island Sea Lab CAMEO, register for one of two training sessions by emailing cameo@disl.edu or by calling 251-861-2141, 7515.
The training sessions will be held:
- February 15, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- March 11, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
No special skills are required to participate, except being comfortable on a boat. You will learn the rest during the training.