Contributory project: It is designed by members of the scientific community, and citizens participate in data collection.  Collaborative project: Citizens participate in data collection and analysis.  Co-created project: Citizens participate in all stages of the scientific process. 

Detect the presence of marine-coastal invasive species through participatory monitoring to analyze their expansion throughout the Argentinian coast. 

Encourage different stakeholders from the Argentinian marine-coastal region to participate in the design and validation of a monitoring network of invasive species.  Create a database using the invasive species records gathered through the monitoring network.  Raise community awareness about how the issue of biological invasions is one of the main threats to biodiversity.  

Activities include amateur and professional divers, who have a close connection with marine-coastal environments, have valuable knowledge, and are capable of detecting changes over time. In specific workshops, participants discuss interests and motivations to collaborate with the early detection of invasive species, and co-design strategies and tools to report these species. The project has now a virtual platform for photo and video records including the respective observation date and the location of the invasive species. The platform also provides an instructional guide for observations. There is also a mobile app, currently in the co-design phase, which will make the interaction with citizens smoother. 

7/1/2022 - N/A.

Nicolás Battini, Institute of Marine Organisms Biology (IBIOMAR, by its Spanish acronym)/National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)  Clara B. Giachetti, Institute of Marine Organisms Biology/CONICET 

Email: nicolasbattini@gmail.com; claragia88@gmail.com; obsermar@gmail.com  Web: obsermar.com.ar  Instagram: instagram.com/obsermar