Walker Range Forest Protection Association: Fill & Download for Free

Short answer, nothing much for most of us:Migratory birds might get confused since they rely on the direction of the magnetic field.Magnetic field strength reduces to about 10% during the transition and is much more complex during the transition, with multiple north and south magnetic poles.More auroras. Would get auroras at the equator during the reversal itself.Solar storms would have more effect but Earth would still have a magnetic field, just a bit weaker.Astronauts in low Earth orbit would need more protection from solar stormsOzone layer damaged leading to increased UV radiation so humans would need more sunblock to avoid skin cancer. It would stress the populations of phytoplankton in the oceans but there is no evidence yet to support the idea that this could have major wider reaching effects. This is a matter of on going research.No mass extinctions as a full reversal happens every two hundred thousand years approximately and we have nearly all the same species on Earth as we had hundreds of thousands of years ago.Our atmosphere still protects us, as it is equivalent to ten meters of water in mass. Only the upper atmosphere gets increased levels of particle fluxes. The cosmic radiation you detect at ground level is due to much more penetrating particles than the slower moving ones in solar storms.The solar storms have large scale electromagnetic effects, and we would have to harden long range transmission cables but we should do that anyway as present day solar storms can go right through the Earth’s magnetic field protection when they are strong enough.We get increased erosion of the upper atmosphere by solar storms, but magnetic field reversal is so rare that this has no long term effects - it can’t strip away the atmosphere even on geological timescales. Solar storms can do that on Mars because it had no magnetic field for billions of yearsIf you are worried about the story about the magnetic field behaving erratically, it is a very minor effect, see my debunk here:Debunked: Warning about erratic motion of Earth’s magnetic fieldHOW OFTEN DO WE GET A MAGNETIC REVERSAL?First, full magnetic reversals, where the field flips and stays flipped, are rare, roughly every 200,000 years but sometimes with much longer gaps between them. The last one was Brunhes–Matuyama reversal 781,000 years ago.But sometimes the magnetic field reverses temporarily, and then reverts to its original state again. One geologically recent example, the Laschamp event 41,000 years ago. This happened surprisingly quickly, around a century for the polarity shift, unlike a full reversal that takes thousands of years for it to reverse.It was a complete reversal, not just a change in position of the pole. While reversed, the field strength was only 5% of our normal magnetic field, but it had North and South interchanged. It lasted for 440 years. Of that time period, the two reversals took up 250 years.An extremely brief reversal of the geomagnetic field, climate variability and a super volcanoIt’s not much different though whether it just flips for a short time or flips for a long time.In this diagram the yellow dots track the motion of the north "virtual geomagnetic pole"For a couple of science news stories about this research: An extremely brief reversal of the geomagnetic field, climate variability and a super volcano , Ice age polarity reversal was global event: Extremely brief reversal of geomagnetic field, climate variability, and super volcanoIt remained reversed for a total of 450 years and the two polarity reversals took 250 years of that. That's very rapid on geological timescales.For the detailed scientific paper: Dynamics of the Laschamp geomagnetic excursion from Black Sea sediments. This diagram is discussed on page 65.So, it does seem it is something that can happen. Not just in a few years. But over a couple of centuries.There have been other magnetic field "excursions" as these are called. Gothenburg magnetic reversal 11,500 years ago and Mono Lake magnetic reversal of 23,000 years ago .This is a simulation of a magnetic reversal on supercomputer from 2010, just to give an idea of how it works, it's not just the magnetic poles moving, like turning around, the magnetic field would get complex in the middle of the transition. It would get pretty hard to use a compass, I'd imagine, need to rely on up to date maps of the direction of the magnetic field in whatever part of the world you were sailing in.This is what it's like in the middle of a reversal:GeodynamoWe are nowhere near anything like that at present.CURRENT SITUATION, NO SIGN OF A REVERSALThe South dip pole lies at a latitude of 64.28 degrees South, outside Antarctica, in the open ocean, also outside the Antarctic circle.While the North magnetic pole is far closer to the pole, almost directly at it right now:As you see the N. magnetic pole is continuing to move closer to the geometric N. pole and the S. magnetic pole is continuing to move away from the geometric S. pole.In these diagrams, the blue is the geomagnetic pole - treats the Earth as if it were a dipole magnet. So the geomagnetic poles are diametrically opposite each other. The red dots are the dip poles - the point on the surface where your compass needle would point directly downwards or upwards.More about it here: Magnetic PolesThere's also evidence that the magnetic field is getting weaker. But it’s been much stronger than usual for a while and so far it is not particularly low, just declining towards rather ordinary valuesWhat it will do next is anybody’s guess. If you extrapolate that graph, it reaches 0 so a reversal after 1500 years. But there is no reason to suppose that it’s doing that. Even if it gets very weak, often you get “excursions” where the field gets weak, but then just restores itself in the same direction as before.So there is no reason to suppose it will reverse based on the magnetic field strength so far. The magnetic poles are continually moving anyway and at present they are close to the poles and the magnetic field strength is normal.See Magnetic ReversalsBut it could happen. And we can get an idea of the effects, from studies of the last time it happened.EFFECTS OF THE REVERSAL LAST TIME IT HAPPENEDThere were increased levels of radiation, with increased levels of Beryllium 10 and carbon 14. See https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016084936.htm(note, in case of confusion: the paper doesn’t say that the reversal caused the supervolcano eruption, it’s just that their research allowed them to research both events as they were close together in time)We remain protected by the atmosphere, which is roughly equivalent in radiation shielding to ten meters thickness of water. So we don't need to be concerned we'll all die, like astronauts caught in a solar storm outside the shelter of the Earth's magnetic field. That can't happen.Human beings have managed fine through many previous reversals. Anatomically modern humans evolved around 200,000 years ago, archaic humans 500,000 years ago, and earlier hominids have been around for millions of years, see human evolutionThe weaker magnetic field during a reversal wouldn’t make much difference for the faster particles in cosmic radiation as these fast particles go straight through the Earth’s magnetic field anyway. And some particles are even accelerated by the magneticfield. The Earth’s atmosphere protects us from this, again shielding equivalent to ten meters thickness of water.Theoretically the increased radiation levels from the slower particles could increase cloud levels (because radiation is supposed to help with cloud formation, similarly to the way they produce trails in cloud chambers) which could cool the Earth. The authors of that paper couldn't find a clear correlation of weather with the cosmic ray flux during the Laschamp event however (just summarizing what they way in their paper).More generally, there’s no proven link between magnetic reversals and extinctions.“During a transition the magnetic field at the surface of the Earth decreases to about 10% of its current value. If the geomagnetic field is a shield against energetic particles of solar or cosmic origin then biospheric effects can be expected. We review the early speculations on the problem and discuss in more detail its current status. We conclude that no clear picture of a geomagnetic link, a causal relation between secular magnetic field variations and the evolution of life on our planet can be drawn.”Magnetic Polarity Transitions and Biospheric Effects (2010)In more detail: in the summary conclusion section on page 157 of the earlier paper:The Sun, geomagnetic polarity transitions, and possible biospheric effects: review and illustrating model (2009) they conclude that the main effect would be generation of a natural hole in the ozone layer and this would stress the populations of phytoplankton in the sea, but that so far none of the recent studies have yet been conclusive enough to decide if this has cataclysmic effects on the Earth’s ecosystem.“A major atmospheric effect of polarity transitions is most probably the generation of a natural ozone hole due to enhanced SPE activity. This ozone hole is associated with a strong increase of erythemal weighted surface UV-B flux. .“The increase of erythemal weighted surface UV-B flux represents a clear stress on aquatic ecosystems such as phytoplankton populations. Using a simplified model of enhanced UV-B stress on such a population indicates a complex, nonlinear response of the population.… “We conclude that many further studies on details of the suggested process chain and actual analyses of geologic proxies are necessary before a possible connection following the processes discussed can be confirmed. All recent studies do not yet allow one to decide whether a polarity transition is a cataclysm to the Earth system or not. “This is an earlier 1980 paper with the same conclusion: Relationship between biological extinctions and geomagnetic reversalsMore citations in the wikipedia article here: Geomagnetic reversalSOLAR STORMSA really major solar storm will break through our magnetic field whatever, so that’s not particularly to do with magnetic pole reversal.There's no risk to humans. But there is a risk to the electricity transmission network and to satellites mainly. Ordinary strong solar flares aren't really a problem, there is enough warning and the electricity companies and so on can take measures to protect themselves. Impacts of Strong Solar Flares. We get those every so often, every decade or so.But then - there's the possibility of a really big solar flare. There was a big solar flare back in Solar storm of 1859. Known as the "Carrington event" after an English astronomer who was observing the sun, saw some huge sunspots, and spotted an intense white flash from the sunspot group. The auroras turned night to day, people could read the newspaper by the auroras. Gold minors in the Rocky Mountains woke up and ate breakfast at 1 a.m. thinking it was sunrise on a cloudy day.Telegraphs stopped working - and in the USA, some operators disconnected the batteries and found they could send telegrams just using the induced electricity from the storm. See Severe Space Weather Events Telegraph operators also saw sparks leaping from their equipment, some big enough to cause fires. What If the Biggest Solar Storm on Record Happened Today?So - at the time that was just a curiosity and hardly made any difference to anyone except the telegraph operators and people woken up early by the bright auroras. But if we had a storm like that now, the effects could be huge. We have never had a flare anything like that big since then.The main effects are:It could knock out many of our satellites including GPS by interfering with its electronics. I think the main risk here is that they go off line and have to reboot - not physical damage Impacts of Strong Solar Flares.GPS becomes less accurate during a solar storm - you get warnings about that however beforehand Space Weather Effects on GPS and WAASIt could destroy the transformers in our electricity grid for transmission of electricity.Basically the power companies need to install monster surge protectors. Solar Storms: What You Need to Ask Your Power CompanyAnd another approach involving adding extra resistors - this amounted to a total cost of the order of $100, million, for an event that could cost trillions (between 0.6 and 2.4 trillion dollars to replace damaged transformers after sch an event according to the Lloyds report) and mean outages of electricity for between 6 days and years. An Inexpensive Fix to "Prevent Armageddon" But Congress didn't pass the bill that was proposed to spend this $100 million on this fix.I'm not sure of the latest on this. There's a lot about this online but it can be a bit hard to sift the accurate sites from the ones that are a bit over the top and sensationalist.Blackouts certainly can happen, this is something that actually did happen in Quebec in 1989 You are most vulnerable in the higher latitudes so the North of the US would be the ones who lose power, and the higher latitude countries in Europe. Apparently also more vulnerable if the power lines run above igneous rocks."Power systems in areas of igneous rock (gray) are the most vulnerable to the effects of intense geomagnetic activity because the high resistance of the igneous rock encourages geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) to flow in the power transmission lines situated above the rock. "The Day the Sun Brought DarknessAnd - is something you can do something about - ways of protecting the transformers in power grids seem the most important thing to focus on. There's a useful recent discussion here at physicsstackexchange:Can a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) cause a blackout on Earth and why?Where one of the answers says that the power network has various unintended protections built in, mainly that if one transformer blows out, the rest in the grid tend to trip rather than blow out too. And that in a study that he and some colleagues did, they found the power grid may be less vulnerable than previously predicted because of these reasons, but satellites that orbit at geostationary orbit, also the middle level orbit GPS satellites may be more vulnerable than previously expected, with many of them, if on the sun side of the Earth (between it's magnetic field and the sun) likely to be destroyed."So the most recent idea is that our satellites are very vulnerable but our power grids may not be as vulnerable as we originally thought (though, all of these issues are incredibly difficult to model and predict so take my comments with a grain of salt)."- see the conversation here: Can a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) cause a blackout on Earth and why?Any other links on this?(This is a shortened version of Robert Walker's answer to How often do solar storms occur? Can they hit earth or cause harm to use?)NO DIFFERENCE IN NUMBERS OF PARTICLES THAT GET DOWN TO GROUND LEVELSolar storm particles are too weak to get through the atmosphere at all. Cosmic "rays" actually particles (the name is confusing as they aren't photons or radiation and travel at less than light speed) - they can, but the atmosphere is equivalent to 10 meters thickness of water so only the most energetic can get all the way through.The loss of magnetic field won't make any difference there as it’s our atmosphere that protects us most (though it would make a big difference to astronauts in the ISS). It increases the number of particles that hit the upper atmosphere, whch is why it can influence the ozone layer and perhaps cloud formation. It also makes magnetic field differences to the surface which is how you can get the effects on long cables such as electricity transmission cables. But it doesn't increase the number of particles that get down to ground level in the atmosphere.WHAT ABOUT OXYGEN LOSS DURING MAGNETIC FIELD REVERSALS?In the Triassic / Jurassic extinction there were 80 pole reversals in 30 milion years and oxygen levels reduced from 23% to 14%, or, 0.00003% per century. A 2014 paper hypothesized, based on calculations, that pole reversals caused half this decline, or 0.06% per reversal. SeeOxygen escape from the Earth during geomagnetic reversals: Implications to mass extinctionHowever this misses out many processes for magnetic planets which are harder to model than unmagnetized planets. Section 3 of this 2019 paper Revisiting the Biological Ramifications of Variations in Earth's Magnetic Field calculates that a magnetic reversal DECREASES mass loss. They calculate that if Earth was unmagnetized at 4.6 billion years ago. it had only 26% of the mass loss of our current magnetized planet.see also ebunked: If we cut down all the forests we will run out of oxygen to breathe - they are not the “lungs of the planet” in any literal senseAURORASYou'd see auroras right down to the equator.Here is a stunning video of the Aurora Borealis from the ISS in 2012.And a compilation of various videos of it hereSee also If you were alive during the reversal of Earth's magnetic poles, would you notice anything on Earth while it occurred, like a sudden change in weather?and Aurora Borealis: Why is Antarctic Auroral Oval always off center over the South Pole?This is identical to my answer to What will happen when the magnetic poles shift?See also Debunked: Earth’s magnetic field to reach zero this century - no - decreasing at 5% per century, would take centuries but doesn’t resemble field before past two reversals

If animals are your passion — the field that makes you want to get up and do something — then you can certainly achieve this balance. The typical job working with animals brings in about $55,775, according to 2015 U.S. Census data. Aside from a veterinarian career, there are a variety of jobs working with animals that also pay decent wages. These jobs bring in close to that median income or even higher.Here are 12 jobs working with animals that could pay the bills:1. GroomerMedian salary: $21,260Salary range: $17,160 to $34,780Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentGroomers help pets look their best by cleaning them and trimming fur. Those who make the highest salary earn more than $34,000 a year. Groomers who work in Hawaii, California and Rhode Island typically make the most money.How to become one: Animal caretakers must have at least a high school diploma. Most training takes place on the job, but some choose to study at a grooming school. Employers generally prefer candidates to have some experience working with animals. If you want to care for animals in a zoo, you will likely be required to have a bachelor’s degree in animal science, biology or a similar field.Get the Coronavirus Watch newsletter in your inbox.Stay safe and informed with updates on the spread of the coronavirusDelivery: VariesYour Email2. Kennel attendant, pet sitter and dog walkerMedian salary: $21,260Salary range: $17,160 to $34,780Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentKennel attendants, pet sitters and dog walkers care for pets while owners are traveling or unavailable. The highest-paid workers usually earn up to $34,780 a year. Those who work in states including Hawaii, California and Rhode Island usually earn the most.How to become one: Generally, most kennel attendants, pet sitters and dog walkers must a obtain a minimum of a high school diploma. They learn additional skills on the job. Most employers prefer candidates to have previous experience taking care of pets. Those who work in kennels or shelters can learn more about the job by taking classes through the Humane Society of the United States and the American Humane Association. Pet sitters can obtain additional education through the National Association of Professional Pet Sitters. The organization offers courses, such as caring for parrots, dogs and dealing with pet behavioral issues.3. Veterinary assistantMedian salary: $24,360Salary range: $18,060 to $36,690Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentVeterinary assistants work in a clinic or animal hospitals, helping veterinarians care for animals. They are responsible for helping veterinarians with routine tasks. The best-paid veterinarian assistants earn $36,690 a year. Those who work in states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine tend to earn the most.How to become one: If you want to become a veterinary assistant, you should at least have a high school diploma. It also doesn’t hurt to love animals. Most veterinary assistants learn their trade on the job. Certification isn’t required, but it may help you get promoted or obtain an advanced position.4. Laboratory animal caretakerMedian salary: $24,360Salary range: $18,060 to $36,690Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentLaboratory animal caretakers work in labs with animal scientists, biologists or veterinarians. They feed, care for and monitor the well-being of lab animals. The best-paid laboratory animal caretakers can earn as much as $36,690 a year. Those who work in states such as Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine, earn the most.How to become one: Laboratory animal caretakers are required to at least have a high school diploma. Most laboratory animal caretakers learn their trade through on-the-job training. Certification isn’t required to become a laboratory animal caretaker, but some employers prefer it. Having a certification could also help you get promoted or obtain an advanced position.5. TrainerMedian salary: $26,610Salary range: $18,160 to $57,170Minimum qualifications: no formal education requirementsAnimal trainers are responsible for training animals for tasks, such as riding, performance, obedience or assisting the disabled. They also help animals become more comfortable with human interaction. The highest-paid animal trainers can earn an annual salary of up to $57,170. Those who work in states such as Minnesota, New York and California can make the most money.How to become one: There are no formal education requirements to become an animal trainer. Those who work in the animal-training field usually receive on-the-job training. In addition, animal trainers can receive education through organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States.6. Veterinary techniciansMedian salary: $31,800Salary range: $21,890 to $47,410Minimum qualifications: an associate degreeVeterinary technicians perform medical testing with the supervision of a licensed veterinarian. They help diagnose an animal’s injury or illness. Veterinary technicians who are in the 90th percentile of earners take home an annual salary of more than $47,000. Those who work in states such as Alaska, Massachusetts and New York earn the most.How to become one: Those who desire to become veterinary technicians are required to complete a college-level program with the American Veterinary Medical Association. Candidates must enroll in either a two- or four-year program. Technicians are required to pass an exam and become registered, licensed or certified, depending on the state where they are employed.7. Animal control workerMedian salary: $33,450Salary range: $20,830 to $53,190Minimum qualifications: varies by locationAnimal control workers help ensure the proper treatment of animals, investigate cases of mistreatment, and locate abandoned animals. Those who are among the top earners can make more than $53,000 a year. Animal control workers who work in states, such as Nevada, California and Washington, earn the most.How to become one: Animal control workers are required to have a minimum of a high school diploma or the equivalent. Additional training usually takes place on the job. The National Animal Care & Control Association offers training programs. In addition, some states require certification in animal control.8. Conservation and forest techniciansMedian salary: $35,430Salary range: $25,430 to $54,860Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentConservation and forest workers keep track of wildlife, gather data, suppress forest fires and work to improve the health of forests. The top earners make more than $54,000 a year. Those who work in states such as Massachusetts, New York and Georgia earn the most.How to become one: A valid driver’s license and a high school diploma are the minimum requirements to become a forest and conservation worker. Most workers receive on-the-job training, such as the proper procedure for planting or thinning trees. They also learn how to safely operate and maintain forestry equipment. Some employers prefer candidates to have an associate degree in forestry technology or a related field. Programs should be accredited by the Society of American Foresters. In addition, some states require that employees receive training and sometimes obtain a license in the appropriate use of commercial pesticides.9. BreederMedian salary: $39,380Salary range: $20,430 to $75,210Minimum qualifications: high school diploma or equivalentBreeders select and breed animals according to characteristics and genealogy. The top earners make more than $75,000 a year. Those who work in Ohio, South Dakota and Kentucky earn the most.How to become one: Animal breeders are required to have a minimum of a high school education. In addition, breeders learn their skill through short-term on-the-job training. Those who want to breed zoo animals are required to have a bachelor’s degree in veterinary science and, depending on one’s career goals, postgraduate study in zoology.10. Biological technicianMedian salary: $41,650Salary range: $26,610 to $69,180Minimum qualifications: bachelor’s degreeBiological technicians help medical scientists in the laboratory. They are responsible for the setup, operation, and maintenance of laboratory equipment. They also monitor experiments. The top earners make more than $69,000 a year. Those who work in states, such as California, Connecticut and Massachusetts earn the most.How to become one: Biological technicians generally need a bachelor’s degree in biology or a similar field. Technicians must also acquire laboratory experience. In addition, it’s important to take computer classes because laboratories have computers and other high-tech equipment.11. Zoologists and wildlife biologistsMedian salary: $59,680Salary range: $39,180 to $97,390Minimum qualifications: bachelor’s degreeZoologists and wildlife biologists study animals and wildlife and how they interact with their environment. The top earners make more than $100,000 a year. Those who work in states such as Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island earn the most money.How to become one: A bachelor’s degree is necessary for those seeking entry-level positions. A master’s degree is usually required for advanced or scientific positions. Those who want to lead independent research or work at a university must have a doctoral degree.12. Conservation land managersMedian salary: $60,220Salary range: $37,380 to $91,830Minimum qualifications: bachelor’s degreeConservation land managers work with conservation groups, landowners or other entities to protect specific wildlife and land. The top earners tend to make more than $90,000. Those who work in states such as Alaska, Rhode Island and New Jersey make the most money.How to become one: Conservation land managers must obtain a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, preferably in natural resource management. In addition, experience can be gained through internships and volunteer work. Some states require those desiring to become foresters to obtain a license.

Wild-life conservation and ornithology are two fields where amateur scientists already contribute. More amateur involvement could help transform more citizens into becoming better committed and engaged stewards of their local environments. Such contribution may even be vital in this era of massive climate change. Committed eyes and ears on the ground help every bit as much as professional researchers in mapping and quantifying how climate change is impacting flora and fauna.The Amateur Scientist And Wild-life Conservation: The Example Of Chennai, India, Students And The Olive Ridley TurtleBy the Bay of Bengal, the South Indian city of Chennai is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. No surprise that population growth and economic development threaten its local ecology. One casualty has been the Olive ridley sea turtle. Globally they've steadily lost their nesting sites and are now considered endangered. Annually returning to the same beach where they hatched, female turtles lay their eggs in a process of synchronized nesting. Thus, every year like clockwork, from January until April, Olive Ridley turtles arrive at Chennai's southern beaches, from Neelankarai to Edward Elliot's Beach, a distance of ~ 7 kms. Turtle eggs are highly vulnerable to predation and of course to man-made depredations, inadvertent or otherwise. In what is possibly one of the most beautiful and touching examples of volunteerism or altruism or service for the greater good or call it what you will, since 1987, the Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network, a voluntary group of mainly students gathers every night from January until April. From 11PM until ~ 3 to 4AM, they walk the 7 km beach stretch, looking for newly laid turtle eggs. They collect and relocate them to a nearby hatchery. When hatchlings emerge 45 days later, the volunteers release them safely into the sea.In their own words (1),'The SSTCN was initially organized and operated by students, aged 16 to 25. While a few ‘non – students’ (lawyers, biologists, conservationists, business professionals, etc.) advised, the leadership, organisation and manpower were principally from this age group. Once students finish courses, they routinely leave Madras [now renamed Chennai] after participating in or leading the organisation for two to three years, so the SSTCN has seen a high turnover of both membership and leadership.SSTCN’s activities include beach monitoring, hatchery management, protection of clutches left in the beach (‘in situ nests’), and education and awareness campaigns; the programme has continued from 1988 until present. Each season, the group establishes a hatchery at Neelangarai, and every night from end-December through mid-March, the same 7 km stretch of beach is patrolled. Some years, when there are enough volunteers, the patrolling extends an additional 5 to 10 km beyond Neelangarai to the north. Due to egg predation by feral dogs and people, most nests along this stretch are highly vulnerable.Consequently, most egg clutches that can be found are relocated to the hatchery. At the hatchery, nests are monitored and a few days prior to expected emergence of hatchlings, they are enclosed with plastic or thatch baskets, to restrain the hatchlings from crawling on to the beach, where chances of predation are high. Hatchlings are released at the edge of the sea the same night of emergence, and the respective nests are excavated to evaluate hatching success.Experiments with nest spacing and shading have been conducted to improve hatching success, which has remained over 80% during most years since 1992 (Shanker 1995, 2003). Average densities on the beach range from 10 – 15 nests with eggs per km, and the group has collected between 50 and 200 clutches per year (now totalling some 120,000 eggs) and released about 80,000 hatchlings over the past 15 years (Shanker 2003). Since 1988, the sstcn has also been conducting education and awareness programs.'More information about this volunteer activity on their web-site, SSTCN. I urge interested readers to fully explore this simple and beautiful web-site. Detailing the kind of co-ordination and effort necessary, this is a wonderful example of a purely grassroots volunteer-driven conservation effort. Unsurprisingly, naysayers have questioned the utility of this project, which the volunteers have countered most persuasively and cogently. Rather than simply focus on numbers of turtles saved, this effort also educates the local population about these turtles and about wildlife conservation in general, and thus raises their general awareness about the importance of such measures. As well, in its years of existence, this volunteer program has inspired several to pursue careers in ecology and wildlife conservation.In their own words again (1),'Every weekend during the season, members of the general public and students from Madras accompany the SSTCN on ‘turtle walks’ when they are educated about sea turtles and conservation.Why we do this a question that has often provoked heated debate both within and outside the group is the utility of such hard work and dedication just to release a few thousand hatchlings each year. This result comes after much effort in organisation, long nights walking beaches and never seeing a turtle, and sacrifices to time that could be otherwise spent in studies, with family, or in more conventional hobbies, not to mention the expenses often incurred to each participating student. When the problems that face the hatchling are seemingly insurmountable – it has been suggested that one in 1,000 or less survive to reach maturity – it is often questioned if all the effort is really helping the turtles. SSTCN’s success lies in its role as an outreach program rather than strictly as a wildlife conservation program (something that many members of the group, but not all, do realise).Thanks to the students’ network, thousands of people in the Madras area have been on a turtle walk; many have seen hatchlings – which are indisputably amongst the most charismatic ambassadors of conservation, and a few have even had the fortune of seeing a nesting olive ridley. Many student members have been motivated to pursue careers in ecology, ecotourism, wildlife management and conservation.Even if they are doomed, and sea turtles on the Madras coast do not survive the coastal development, fisheries and other threats, these turtles (and hatchlings) still help conservation through their singular contribution to education and outreach programmes.They help motivate and shape young ecologists and conservationists who might go on to save turtles or other species of wildlife elsewhere. Though nesting along the Madras coast has been extremely low in some years (2.5 nests/ km), there does not appear to have been an overall decline over the last fifteen years. While the long term conservation program may have prevented a drastic decline thus far, the intensity of threats has increased. The main threat to adult sea turtles along much of the Indian coast is fishery related mortality, with about 10 – 20 dead ridleys washed ashore every season on the northern coast of Tamil Nadu. Fishing villages dot the entire coastline of the state, and opportunistic egg poaching by members of the fishing community and other communities living on the coast, as well as depredation by feral dogs are major problems.Furthermore, as residential, middle class colonies spread along the coast, beachfront lighting and subsequent disorientation of hatchlings is becoming a serious problem along a greater stretch of this coast each year.'The Amateur Scientist And Ornithology: The Example Of Migrant Watch, India's First Citizen Science Effort To Collect Ecological Information About Bird MigrationEvery year from July to December, >300 bird species touch down in India on their way further south from Africa, China, Europe and Russia. A citizen science effort now called eBird India, Migrant Watch was funded by the Bangalore based National Center for Biological Sciences. According to Sahel Quader, Migrant Watch's founder (2),'Arrival and departure dates are an effective way of measuring the effects of climate change on bird migration...Citizen science can tell us about global warming just by arming people with a pair of binoculars and a little training''In India just two years of citizen science have transformed shy homemakers, geeks and retirees into skilled outdoor scientists. They are marching out into the great outdoors, taking on the classic pose of nature watchers, feet planted on earth and necks craned up to identify the flutterer between leaves and swooshers in the skies.Early walkers are certainly getting the birds. Aniket Bhatt, an infotech consultant, was the first to log on to Tracking bird migration across India in August 2007. He says, “All I could identify were seven rosy starlings in Ahmedabad.” Since then, over 800 volunteer watchers have documented 195 migrant species, landing, living and leaving India, with their sharp-eyed sightings and swift keystrokes. Helping them along are identification markers and pictures on this ‘open access’ online database.Ramit Singhal, a shy 19-year-old, knows about the birds and the bees as well as everything about birds called bee-eaters. Right from their distinguishing black-eye-stripe to how they feed on wasps without feeling the sting.Despite being colour blind and a birding novice 18 months ago, this soft-spoken engineering student has recorded 378 bird species across India. Though he can’t tell green from orange, he doesn’t confuse green bee-eaters with brown laughing doves. Size, call and patterns are enough. Quader calls Ramit “a citizen science superstar”.Walking about in the highly polluted Okhla Bird Sanctuary in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, a wetland stopover for migrant birds where methane bubbles up from the waters, Ramit casually picks out gliding black kites, yellow-bellied prineas and striated babblers on reeds. It’s only the beady gaze of a red-necked falcon that turns him into a gawking teenager, who ogles this awesome raptor loudly exclaiming: “Oh man! This is my first one.”“Initially, we chose nine species,” says Uttara Mendiratta, coordinator, MigrantWatch. These were picked out for commonness, wide distribution and identifiability. Or, birds outside our windows like barn swallows—the first migrants in Jul —and rosy starlings, their entire global population winters in India.With birds from wetlands, grasslands and forests making marathon migrations here, “We’re uniquely positioned to get good information about the mysteries of migration and climate change,” says Gopi Sundar, India research associate for the International Crane Foundation.The late Indira Gandhi was perhaps our most prominent citizen scientist. Each year when she sighted a black redstart, she’d mail an exultant letter to Salim Ali, the late ornithologist. Snigdha Kar, a Delhi-based climate activist is following in Mrs Gandhi’s tracks. “I’m looking everywhere for the pied-crested cuckoo,” says the young hobby birder. The arrival of this stark black-and-white bird from Africa coincides exactly with whimsical monsoon winds which lift it to our shores'So there you have it, two spectacular examples of amateur science in action.Bibliography1. Students Sea Turtle Conservation Network History. History2. Waiting for Godwits. Open magazine, Pramila N. Phatarphekar, August 8, 2009. http://www.openthemagazine.com/article/living/waiting-for-godwits#all