WinkleWatch
from 01/06/2024 until 28/02/2026
WinkleWatch is a community science effort aimed at encouraging beachgoers to have a closer look at the marine life at their nearby shores and to spark curiosity about how animals adapt to their environment. Our question is, “Why are there so many different colors in marine snails?” – and we want to answer this question together with people of all ages from around the world! Participants are simply asked to find Littorina saxatilis snail on the shore, take pictures of them and their environment, and upload them to our online form. This form includes simple questions engaging participants in evolutionary thinking. For example, we ask whether their sampled snail seems (color-wise) well-adapted to its environment and why, and we encourage them to develop hypotheses about what drives color variation. Participant input actively contributes to the scientific process, especially data collection, and may generate novel scientific hypotheses.
Aim
General: Our main objectives are to 1. educate non-scientists about adaptive evolution and 2. engage them in scientific thinking through a hands-on approach that directly involves them in a scientific project. In addition, the project will raise awareness about marine biodiversity.
Specific: We aim to 1. motivate scientific / evolutionary thinking in at least several hundred people via our targeted information materials, questions in the data submission form, and interactions at the final event, and 2. use participant’s contributions and insights to address a long-standing research question on the drivers of color variation in nature.
Needed equipment
Mobile phone
Created Feb. 12, 2025, 2:46 p.m.
Updated Feb. 12, 2025, 2:57 p.m.