348 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
dataset (ABC 2016). Wildlife Spotter, developed with funding from Inspiring
Australia, is a web-based portal (www.wildlifespotter.net.au) that allows people to
connect remotely and view sensor camera images from six conservation projects
around Australia, including WWF’s NBP (Fig. 27.2). The program displays images
at random and each image is analysed by five separate users. Participants record
animals that they identify by selecting icons at the side of the screen. Wildlife
Spotter has been enormously successful at engaging community and facilitating
analysis of very large datasets. However, as with any volunteer program, careful
management of participants and data processing is required to ensure effective
conservation outcomes, as described below.
Recruiting and managing volunteers
Volunteers participate for a variety of reasons: to learn about and see native
animals up close, out of general interest in conservation, for work experience and
to meet others with similar interests. The NBP’s cage trapping program requires
volunteers with a certain level of fitness, basic survey skills, and the ability to
commit to abnormal working hours at specific locations. The majority of these
volunteers are engaged through WWF’s already-established volunteer base, project
partners’ networks or local special interest groups. In contrast, Wildlife Spotter
F i g. 2 7.1. Cage trapping being carried out by volunteers. Photo: Stephanie Todd/JCU/WWF-Aus.