Yooper Wildlife Watch

I am new to this site, where do I start?
You are in the right spot! Read about the project by clicking on the About tab at the top of the screen, and then the Research tab. When you understand a bit more of what we are doing and trying to accomplish, it is time to move on to looking at photos: select the Classify tab, then at the top of the list of species you will see a button ** Tutorial**. Review that and then commence with looking at photos and selecting the species you see. Additional assistance is provided in the Field Guide which shows as a tab on the extreme right edge of the Classify screen, Note the tutorial or field guide can be reviewed at any time without losing your place in the classification, but be careful if you jump to external links or otherwise leave the subject you are working on before you hit “Done” or “Talk and Done” – you could lose any work you have done there, and your data will not be recorded if you exit the page any other way.

What if I make a mistake when tagging a photo?
Tags will appear in the bottom left hand side of the image, you can click the ‘x’ on each tag to remove it. Once you move past that image by clicking “Done” or “Talk and Done”, you cannot go back to fix it, but do not worry! Every photo is tagged multiple times to ensure accuracy of identification. Usually volunteers make mistakes they wish to correct because their “fingers are faster than their brain” – repeated actions become automatic and are completed before one realizes they should have clicked differently. The faster one works the more likely this is so “experts” are as prone to this sort of error as anyone! This is one reason a crowd can do the job as well or better. It is very unlikely more than one person makes the same mistake on any one subject.

Why is there a not a 'I do not know' button or 'Unidentifiable Animal' button?
With several volunteers seeing each image, it is most useful if each person makes their best guess, even if it is very uncertain if any one individual is correct. While this can be challenging (and even uncomfortable for the individual who hates making any sort of error), comparing the multiple responses tells us a great deal. If the volunteers do all guess the same, it is very likely they are correct, and if the responses differ then that is a measure of the uncertainty of the subject – ie we will know that subject is not clear enough to make a determination. Those projects that have offered a “I don’t know” option have also found it overused by some volunteers – which effectively means some subjects do not get enough people who do try to identify the animal.

What if there is more than one species per photo?
That is great! You can tag multiple species before hitting the “Done” or “Talk and Done” button to move on.

How are you defining the observed behaviors?
Eating-when a species is visibly carrying and/or chewing food in its mouth. This behavior also includes drinking
Interacting-this behavior includes individuals interacting with others of the same species or different species, as well as interacting with their environment. Animals that are moving sticks, rubbing trees, digging through leaves, and messing with the camera are all examples of wildlife interacting with their environment.

What if I see an animal that is not on your list?
Please use the “Done and Talk” button and leave a comment with the hashtag “#newspecies”. While we will likely NOT analyze hashtags beyond this and the other specific use listed below, feel free to tag any subject for your own or community use in any other way you like!

What if I am having technical issues or have a question?
Any questions or comments can be posted under the ‘Talk’ tab found near the top right of the page. We would love to hear from you!
If you believe the issue affects more than one subject and the quality of data being collected, alert a team member by placing a “Mention” in your comment such as @admins. (See the comment Help under the “?” top right of any comment block for a full list of “mention” options)

Where are your cameras located?
We are not sharing specific locations of our cameras due to risk of theft. All of our cameras are located throughout Marquette County MI. A map can be found on the "About" page.

Why do humans have extra feedback questions associated with them?
The current graduate student leading this project is focusing a section of her thesis research on investigating the effects of human recreation on carnivore habitat use and behavior. Even further she is looking if animals respond differently to hikers and hunters, as well as other forms of recreation.

**How are you addressing the privacy/ethics issues with using human images? **
Given that our project is associated with a university we had to go through a process to gain the proper permissions to included human images on the online platform. Before upload we are required to go through and remove/blur any personal information and anything that would reveal personal identity. We blur all faces, license plates, etc. to ensure that no will be individually identified.

Why PRIMOS cameras?
All pictures have the words PRIMOS Hunting in the left bottom corner referring to the brand of camera that is being used. We are not in any agreement or contract to promote PRIMOS cameras or any of their products, these are just the cameras that we decided to purchase. I will add for anyone looking at purchasing trail/game cameras that we have had very few issues with our cameras even throughout the harsh winters in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

How long do you plan to run this project and how often will you need the help of Zooniverse volunteers?
As a new project we intend to start small and verify the data collection is meeting our needs but the intention is for the cameras to continue to collect images over several years to provide an ongoing data set for species numbers and movements in the area.

Can I contact you?
If you would like to get in contact with our project leader please use the Talk tab and pick the discussion that is most in line with your comment/question.