Every reef manta ray has a pattern of dark spots on its belly. No two patterns are the same, and each changes little over the animal's life. A clear photo of a manta's underside therefore works like a fingerprint. Researchers can determine that a given manta was seen here three years ago, and elsewhere last spring.
This means a guest on a recreational dive with an inexpensive camera can take a photo that ends up in a research database.
This is the core of the citizen science we carry out at Ceningan Divers with the Marine Megafauna Foundation. In our view, it is one of the most effective initiatives a tourism business can undertake, and its principles extend well beyond diving.
What does citizen science mean in a dive operation?
Citizen science is the collection, by members of the public, of data that scientists use: birdwatchers counting birds, gardeners recording the first frost, divers photographing animals.
Around Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan, manta rays are one of the main reasons people visit. Scientists want to know how many there are, whether the same individuals return, and whether they are being injured by boats or fishing line. Researchers cannot be in the water every day at every site, but dive guides and guests are.
The arrangement is therefore simple. Guests already take photos. Some of those photos are directed toward a useful purpose and sent to people who know how to use them.
The Marine Megafauna Foundation conducts precisely this kind of research on large marine animals, including mantas and whale sharks. Much of its work relies on photos and sightings from people in the water. It also operates Manta Matcher, an online database in which manta identification photos from around the world are compared, so that a photo taken here can match an animal photographed years earlier by someone else entirely.
Why should guests be given only one simple task?
This is where most citizen science programs fail: they ask too much.
A guest on holiday does not want to fill in a form with twenty fields or attend a presentation on methodology. They want to see a manta. If they are also asked to count every fish species and estimate coral cover, they will politely agree and set the task aside before lunch.
The manta identification request works because it is a single task: if you see a manta, try to photograph its belly. The guide explains it during the briefing in thirty seconds. It adds to the dive rather than detracting from it. Guests now have a small mission, and they surface pleased because they believe they captured the image.
The same principle applies to any survey. Choose the single question that matters most and make it easy to answer. Keep everything else off the guest's list and let the staff handle the details: date, site, time, and who took the photo.
Why must the data go to a genuine research partner?
This point is essential. Data stored in a folder on the dive shop computer is not citizen science; it is a photo album.
If you ask people to contribute, the data must reach researchers who actually use it, along with the date, location and any other information they require. Otherwise, the activity resembles science but serves marketing purposes. Guests may not notice the difference at first, but researchers will, and eventually guests will as well.
Working with an established organisation also reduces the burden. You do not need to design the protocol, because the organisation knows what it needs. Your role is to collect the data properly and transmit it. As Green Fins members since January, we also value this kind of external framework, which prevents operations from drifting toward whatever is easiest.
Why show guests what their data accomplished?
This step turns a good idea into an experience people remember.
When guests learn that the manta they photographed has been seen before, that it has an identification number, and that it was first recorded years ago, their perception changes. It is no longer an anonymous animal but a specific individual, and they feel a connection to it.
This is when people begin to care about protection in a genuine way. There is no need to persuade anyone about marine conservation afterwards; guests raise the subject themselves, often over dinner.
We therefore recommend closing the loop by informing guests of the outcome: a follow-up email, a post, a board in the shop, or an evening presentation. If a match is confirmed after guests have returned home, that email will be among the most valued you send them, and it is also the one they forward to friends.
How does this apply to a business that is not a dive shop?
Citizen science programs exist in many fields: bird counts, butterfly tagging, water quality monitoring on lakes and rivers, tracking invasive plants, and recording when trees bud in spring or when the ice goes out. In Canada, there are lake associations and bird counts in almost every region, and many universities would welcome more observers in the field.
A guesthouse, a campground, an outfitter, a farm or an outdoor centre could involve guests in any of these programs. The same three rules apply:
- One simple task a guest can complete at their own pace.
- A genuine partner that uses the data: a university, a lake association, or a regional or national program.
- A way to show people the results.
This gives guests a reason to pay attention to the place, which benefits the business. It also provides authentic stories to tell and a genuine point of difference from nearby competitors. If you need a simple form or tool to collect observations properly so they are usable, that is a surveys and research tools project, and it does not need to be complicated.
The approach should not be adopted for publicity alone, as people recognize the difference. The programs that last are led by someone who genuinely wants to know the answer.