INCLUDING CITIZEN AND STUDENT SCIENTISTS IN ACTUALISTIC TAPHONOMIC RESEARCH: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE SMELLY (Invited Presentation)

Citizen and student science can combine data collection with outreach in ways that can be mutually beneficial for both researchers and participants. However, some types of research lend themselves well to public involvement, while others are more challenging. Here we present two case studies of ongoing actualistic taphonomic research performed by citizen and student scientists. In the first project, K-12 students participated in a pilot study exploring root mark formation on bone. In their classrooms, students and teachers cultivated different plant types in pots containing sectioned cow bones. At set times, students, teachers, and researchers exhumed bone samples for microbial and visual analysis. The second project involved introducing sectioned cow bones to echinoids (sea urchins), to explore the variation of trace expression related to marking taxon and bone condition. Aquarium maintenance and upkeep, as well as animal care and data collection, were performed by area community college students through an NSF-funded GEOPATHS project to increase recruitment of transfer students to four-year universities. Both experiments were designed to be pilot studies, providing proof-of-concept data to guide future, expanded research on these bone surface modification types. Some of the challenges faced by these projects are common to all citizen science projects. Participating citizen and student scientists had to be recruited. Experimental designs had to be streamlined and simplified, with an eye towards minimizing the inherent bias of separate or rotating groups of non-specialist participants. Other problems encountered during data collection were more specific to taphonomic research. Both projects involved observing aspects of bone surface modification during early deposition and decomposition, and therefore issues with insects, odors, and sanitation had to be considered. Finally, a number of unexpected complications occurred, ranging from power outages to water supply contamination. Despite the at times rocky starts to these projects, positive data were collected and the participating citizen and student scientists were able to experience the scientific process first hand and directly participate in troubleshooting real world complications inherent in original research.