Investigator

Purpose of position

Explore local ecosystems, document whether you find or don't find native and invasive species there, and populate the Vital Signs website with your observations. Contribute data for use by scientists, citizen scientists, and students to track the locations and spread of invasive and native species in Maine. You do not need to be a professional scientist to look for species and collect data.

Benefits to you

• Learn which native and invasive species live in an area of interest to you
• Provide scientists and resource managers critical information about native and invasive species in your community
• Find answers to your own burning curiosities and questions related to the species and habitats you see everyday

Responsibilities & Tasks

• Collect data using Vital Signs datasheets, species identification cards, and sampling methods
• Contribute the species and habitat data that you collect to the Vital Signs database
• Explore the data contributions of other Investigators
• Optional: Lend your expertise to other Investigators and encourage the collection of high quality data. Comment on the data collected by others, support or suggest identifications, and use the discussion forum to communicate with the online community.

Necessary Qualifications

• Interest in exploring, observing, and documenting what you see
• Access to and comfort using a digital camera
• Access to and comfort using a computer with Internet access
• Desire to share and learn

Training & Support

There is no formal training required. The datasheets, species identification cards, and sampling methods you need are easy to download. Discussion forums and blog posts provide tips about identifying species. Feel free to contact us or post to one of the discussion forums as questions arise.

Time Commitment

The time you spend collecting data and observing species is completely in your control. Follow your own interests, curiosities, and questions. You may contribute data once, seasonally, annually, or even daily to the Vital Signs database.