title: The value, limitations, and challenges of employing local experts in conservation research.
abstract: Evidence suggests that the involvement of local people in conservation work increases a project's chances of success. Involving citizen scientists in research, however, raises questions about data quality. As a tool to better assess potential participants for conservation projects, we developed a knowledge gradient, K, along which community members occupy different positions on the basis of their experience with and knowledge of a research subject. This gradient can be used to refine the citizen-science concept and allow researchers to differentiate between community members with expert knowledge and those with little knowledge. We propose that work would benefit from the inclusion of select local experts because it would allow researchers to harness the benefits of local involvement while maintaining or improving data quality. We used a case study from the DeHoop Nature Preserve, South Africa, in which we conducted multiple interviews, identified and employed a local expert animal tracker, evaluated the expert's knowledge, and analyzed the data collected by the expert. The expert animal tracker J.J. created his own sampling design and gathered data on mammals. He patrolled 4653 km in 214 days and recorded 4684 mammals. He worked from a central location, and his patrols formed overlapping loops; however, his data proved neither spatially nor temporally autocorrelated. The distinctive data collected by J.J. are consistent with the notion that involving local experts can produce reliable data. We developed a conceptual model to help identify the appropriate participants for a given project on the basis of research budget, knowledge or skills needed, technical literacy requirements, and scope of the project.
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology, 1088 Academic Surge, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elbroch
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico Campus Morelia, Antigua carretera a Pátzcuaro No. 8701, Col. Ex-hacienda de San José de La Huerta, C. P. 58190, Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico.
authors.forename: Tuyeni H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Mwampamba
authors.affiliation: Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing, Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Maria J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Maxine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zylberberg
authors.affiliation: Cyber Tracker Conservation, P.O. Box 962, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa.
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liebenberg
authors.affiliation: Cyber Tracker Conservation, P.O. Box 962, Bellville, Cape Town 7535, South Africa.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minye
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology, 1088 Academic Surge, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mosser
authors.affiliation: Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Conservation Biology, 1088 Academic Surge, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D003256:Community Participation; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design; D012931:Social Environment