March 12th, 2007
Spider WebWatch
David Shorthouse, of The Canadian Arachnologist website and the Nearctic Spider Database, is just putting the finishing touches on Spider WebWatch, a citizen science spider monitoring project that he has developed. At the current time, there are 9 spider species that will be monitored using the WebWatch site. Participation is very easy — you register to set up your user name and password, and then input your data online. The data that you enter is updated live. The WebWatch site has species pages that will assist participants with identification. There’s also a demo mode to learn how to work with the site. I’ve already given it a try and it works very well, even with my slow-as-molasses dial-up connection. I’ll be participating this summer and encourage others to do so as well. I encourage anyone with an interest in spiders to check it out, take a look around, and give the demo a try. If you have feedback, I’m sure David would appreciate hearing from you (look for the “contact” info that may be found on the site).
Tags: Spider WebWatch
March 12th, 2007 at 6:04 pm
That’s a great site. I think these kinds of databases are some of the best uses of the internet. Very cool idea.
March 12th, 2007 at 9:23 pm
I’ll watch without contributing, at least for awhile, since my knowledge and understanding of what might constitute value are in their infancy…if that. I admire all of you who can contribute. I really, truly admire you all. What great value you bring to this world.
March 12th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Bev,
Thanks for the post & for generating some interest. By the time all the snow is off the ground & spiders become more apparent, there will be plenty more on Spider WebWatch.
John,
A point location & a date are a lot more valuable than you think, so please don’t hesitate! While textual descriptions are also valuable, they are far more difficult to parse & compile. These latter kinds of data will take some time to manually sift through.
March 13th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Beautiful spider shot! I guess the watch is just for Canadians?
March 13th, 2007 at 7:52 pm
Laura – I believe anyone in North America would be able to post data to the watch program (David will probably correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m quite sure I’m correct about this). Definitely consider posting some sightings this summer as I’m sure you would encounter most of these species in your region.
March 13th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Absolutely. All of the species chosen have distributions that spill across the border. Some are exclusive to the West, others to the East, but all have populations well below and above the 49th in the west (or the 41st in the east)