Science was invented by amateurs. TURTLES

Science was invented by amateurs; they are still a valuable resource. There were no such things as “scientists” until 1800’s. The word “scientist” wasn’t even around until 1834; people who studied things using careful observation and record keeping were called “natural philosophers”. Charles Darwin’s five-year voyage on the Beagle started in 1831… he was called the ship’s naturalist but in reality, he was expected to be a sophisticated companion to the captain among the decidedly unsophisticated crew members. But Darwin was a man who was curious about everything, and he collected thousands of specimens and took extremely careful notes. He was a dogged observer and record keeper. But even today, the amateur observer can be of significant help in the advancement of knowledge. The advent of modern data bases and statistical analyses can even smooth over some the less than rigorous data that untrained people may collect. Finally, there aren’t enough scientists in the world with enough time, money, eyeballs, and energy, to do justice to the study of all the things on our planet and in the universe that… we just don’t know about. At the end of this blog, I’ll list some of those volunteer sites where you can help in the collection of data, no matter whatever your level of interest might be. But now; the turtles on my own property: Back in 2001 I started making a semi-systematic hobby of collecting data on the eastern box turtles I saw. From Wikipedia: “The eastern box turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) is a subspecies within a group of hinge-shelled turtles normally called box turtles. T. c. carolina is native to the eastern part of the United States. The eastern box turtle is a subspecies of the common box turtle (Terrapene carolina). While in the pond turtle family, Emydidae, and not a tortoise, the box turtle is largely terrestrial. Box turtles are slow crawlers, extremely long-lived, and slow to mature and have relatively few offspring per year. These characteristics, along with a propensity to get hit by cars and agricultural machinery, make all box turtle species particularly susceptible to anthropogenic, or human-induced, mortality. In 2011, citing "a widespread persistent and ongoing gradual decline of Terrapene carolina that probably exceeds 32% over three generations", the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) downgraded its conservation status from near threatened to vulnerable.” I would add to this: The widespread and illegal poaching of turtles for the pet trade has had a severe negative impact on our turtle populations. The jerks that capture these animals for sale to disreputable collectors are criminals. My wife and I own about 100 acres in the foothills of Appalachia. Our property has about a mile of historic logging roads and we have created some paths on which we walk regularly. Every time that I see a turtle on my property, I record some basic information. The method of record keeping I use is old school. I keep all my data in a blank field book; I hand draw the pattern on the single plate (the nuchal scute just behind the turtle’s head). Every turtle I have observed has a distinctive pattern of pigmented markings, almost always arrayed in three vertical columns. For easy reference when looking for repeats, I record the number of “spots” in each column, resulting in a number like: 1 1 1, or, 1 2 1, or, 3 2 1, etc. (see illustrations and pictures) For the most part,I have restricted myself to my own property which I have overlaid with a grid of one acre squares. Each square has a Letter and a number designation: A1, B2, C3, etc. My house and garden being mostly in square H 6. So I have a fairly precise location datum. In addition I record the turtle’s sex (you can determine this by looking at the plastron, the underside of the turtle. Males have a concave area that facilitates mating with females. Bright red eyes usually indicate a male turtle.) I try to note any obvious shell damage and healed areas of previous mishaps. In 2010 I found a turtle with someone’s initials carved into the plastron: “ J J R 1966 ”. This turtle was one of the only ones I observed that had a “negative” pattern on the scute. It was black spots on a yellow background. These days I carry a smart phone, I am able to collect a photo of each turtle I encounter. I still draw the pattern in my record book by hand. At present, I am exploring the ways that I might share these data with the Virginia Hepatological Society. But a better strategy would have been for me to explore the ways that are already set up for citizen volunteer science. Almost any area of the investigation of science that might interest you has already had researcher-designed ways to help. The few websites below will get anyone started. https://www.mnmas.org/community-science https://ssec.si.edu/stemvisions-blog/mobile-apps-citizen-science This last one has NOAA, NASA, EPA, and pretty much everything the federal government does: https://www.citizenscience.gov/catalog/#