Local, Traditional, and Accidental Ecological Observers and Observations
One of the most notable features of an observation-driven approach to ecology is that data can come from anywhere. There are virtually no limits on the types of observations that might become part of a scientific study of changing ecological systems. Old
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Local, Traditional, and Accidental Ecological Observers and Observations
One of the most notable features of an observation-driven approach to ecology is that data can come from anywhere. There are virtually no limits on the types of observations that might become part of a scientific study of changing ecological systems. Old photographs, a naturalist’s field notebook, seafood-restaurant menus from a bygone era, long-forgotten scientific papers, a gambling contest, feathers of a bird preserved in a museum, stories passed down from generation to generation, and even a centuriesold pack-rat midden preserved by generations of pack-rat urine have all been used recently in ecological studies. This openness is both a benefit — it creates limitless opportunity for ecological studies and also invites all sorts of people to become part of a new ecological understanding, regardless of their scientific training, means, or geographic location —and also a curse—how do we sift through it all to find out what is useful, and once we find what we are looking for, how much can we trust all these uncontrolled observers? With this open view of ecological data, the high-tech wizardry we gushed over in the last chapter is put into proper perspective as just one means of achieving a larger ecological understanding. Some of the best observations of nature come from people who have little or no technology at their disposal. This chapter is about humans who have observed the environment closely for long periods of time and passed these observaR. Sagarin and A. Pauchard, Observation and Ecology: Broadening the Scope of Science to Understand a Complex World, DOI 10.5822/978-1-61091-230-3_5, © 2012 Rafe Sagarin and Aníbal Pauchard
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tions down through generations, and about what they can contribute to scientific ecology.
Ecological Knowledge from Local and Traditional Observers Humans have developed a number of ecological observing systems that rely on both their innate senses (Chapter 3) and culture, rather than technology, to transmit and improve the accuracy and utility of their findings. Moments before the devastating 2011 tsunami in Japan, for example, fishermen who were out to sea and felt the trembling of an earthquake remembered their grandfathers’ observations that “tsunami do not rise in deep water,” and quickly stopped fishing and moved further offshore, letting the tsunami wave gently pass under them (Shimbun 2011). Although it may have been first developed as a survival mechanism, culturally transmitted ecological knowledge is not limited to ecological concerns of immediate relevance to our survival. Much of it arose as part of the intergenerational preservation of cultural identities expressed in artwork and mythology built around natural organisms or natural phenomena (Dayton and Sala 2001). Other data has long been amassed for the sake of maintaining both the seasonal and long-term ability to harvest plants and animals (Fleischner 2005). These types of data and practices have come to be known a
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