How we use your data

Many citizen scientists are interested to hear how their contributions are used and sometimes worry they may just sit unexploited in a dusty folder or hard drive somewhere.

With Seasearch, this couldn't be further from the truth. Seasearch Data Officer, Angus Jackson, gives a brief insight into the many ways in which your records have been used.

Once you've sent in your forms, they go through a careful, multi-stage process of validation by coordinators and data enterers, where key details, such as spatial position, descriptive detail, depth and taxonomic identifications are checked (and modified where necessary).

They are then entered into a national, centralised, cloud-based database (called Marine Recorder Online). After a further round of validation by the data officer and national coordinator, the records are published to the public domain.

Example of a sketch from a Seasearch Observer form, submitted by volunteer Elspeth.

From there, they are piped automatically into higher-level data portals and archives (eg DASSH, NBN Atlas, OBIS) where they are available for use as part of datasets from larger geographic areas and they can be used by a wide range of researchers.

Within Britain and Ireland, the data have been used for a broad range of purposes, including:

Designation of marine protected areas

Seasearch records were an important source of information during the designation of Marine Conservation Zones and other Marine Protected Areas (MPA). With Seasearch having run for over 35 years, some places are represented by log time-series of records. In several instances, there are very clear correlations between the distribution of Seasearch records collected prior to designation and the subsequent boundaries of MPAs.

An example of how Seasearch records collected prior to designation are reflected in the subsequent boundaries of MPAs.

State of Nature report

For the first time, the report now includes information about the population trends of seabed organisms, based on data for 438 species, collected by our Seasearch volunteers, ie you!

(https://stateofnature.org.uk/)

Cover of the State of Nature report 2023

Commissioned research

We have done a wide variety of work for Natural England (Commissioned reports), including analyses of diversity of maerl beds in MPAs, linking biodiversity with structural diversity of habitats in Norfolk chalk reefs and of the composition of the assemblages of organisms living on reefs in MPAs.

Research papers published in international scientific journals

This including modelling of population trends for spiny lobster (Palinurus elephas), pink sea fans as indicators and about spawning by cuttlefish (not open access).

Chalk reef at Cromer. Photo by Rob Spray.

Other outputs from use of Seasearch data

These include numerous student research projects, conference presentations and contributions to many workshops eg on citizen science, marine data, maerl, kelp and litter.

Seasearch staff and the large dataset contributed by the Seasearch volunteers (second only to JNCC for marine species records) have helped to shape the development of the new Marine Recorder Online, a centralised, cloud-based facility to store for UK and Ireland marine conservation records, focusing on benthic biodiversity and associated sampling data.

If you would like to extend your impact by contributing records that facilitate population-modelling of our seabed species, why not check out our interactive ‘Where to go’ app on our website (https://www.seasearch.org.uk/data)?.

Main photo by Charlotte Bolton. Other photos by Rob Spray and Jason Guthrie.

AUTHOR

Dr Angus Jackson
Seasearch Data Officer

Angus joined the Marine Conservation Society in 2018 as the data officer for Seasearch. Much of his working week is spent delving around the large project databases containing records of species and habitats on the seabed around the British Isles.