The Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, the National Park Service, and the Schoodic Education and Research Center Institute are investigating whether DNA-based identification of organisms (DNA barcoding) can enhance the public's understanding of biodiversity by helping volunteer citizen scientists identify unknown species. DNA barcoding allows non-scientists to identify unknown organisms at the species level by comparing short DNA sequences taken from unknown organisms to DNA sequences in a reference library for known species. Project deliverables include preliminary data on science learning outcomes among adult citizen scientists; preliminary biodiversity data for invertebrates collected from two habitats in Acadia National Park (forest and eelgrass); and two DNA barcode reference libraries for park invertebrates.
Eighty adult volunteers are collecting invertebrates along two transects (one terrestrial; one marine) in Acadia National Park in Maine. Volunteers are sorting and identifying the unknown organisms by (1) traditional morphological analysis, (2) morphological analysis supplemented with existing DNA barcoding data, or (3) generating DNA barcoding sequencing data through hands-on laboratory work. Project personnel are using observation, interviews, questionnaires, and evaluation instruments to determine how the three species identification strategies impact volunteers' science awareness, knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and behavior.
