💩The Fells Dog Poop Map Project (Nov records)

[Claire O'Neill]

There we go! Our November Dog Poop records are in!

We've been polishing our protocol to gather Dog Poop mapping data! 

This effort will help to get information about high poop density locations so that we can both raise awareness about fecal contamination issues (of soils, waterways, wildlife including our own pets) as well as do conservation science. It also ties to plain public health...

Intrigued? Check it out, and better... help us gathering that data [click on the map for details] 

ℹ️ More About EwA Citizen Science Program » here

Any question❓ Don't be shy. Just email me or reply to this thread.

Cheers, - Claire

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Project Description

An Earthwise Aware Citizen Science campaign to both study the impact and raise awareness about the littering of the Middlesex Fells Reservation with countless Dog Poop (bagged and not). 

As urban ecologists, we encounter specific urban situations. One is the abundance of dog poop in fragile habitats. We love our dogs, yet their parasites -harmless to them- and their processed diet food chemicals in their excrements -bagged or not- when not disposed of properly leach into the Fells wetlands. This in return harms a plethora of wildlife and their habitats. Further down the line, it hurts us too. We seem to forget that our parks are critical ecological reservoirs for us humans and our pets. 

There is a simple remedy though... We can follow the DCR park rules asking to clean after our dogs so that we can give a chance to the last wildlife places in our cities. 

Soon, we'll have a dedicated page explaining the project in detail, its protocol and what the resulting data will enable. Stay tuned! 

Until then, know that one of our first scientific goals is to establish a baseline fecal density map so that it can lead to a sustained study of the fecal contamination of the Fells soils and waterways.  

Here is also some stats to reflect upon (*): 

"Dogs can harbor lots of viruses, bacteria, and parasites — including harmful pathogens like e coli, giardia and salmonella. (A single gram contains an estimated 23 million bacteria.) Studies have traced 20 to 30 percent of the bacteria in water samples from urban watersheds to dog waste. Just two to three days of waste from 100 dogs can contribute enough bacteria, nitrogen and phosphorous to close 20 miles of a bay-watershed to swimming and shellfishing, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It also can get into the air we breathe: a recent study of air samples in Cleveland, Ohio, and Detroit, Mich., found that 10 to 50 percent of the bacteria came from dog poop."

🗺️ Share the map! Please share your sightings with us » contact us at FellsDPMapping@earthwiseaware.org 

⚠️ We need pics with exact timestamps and location/GPS metadata. The best way for us to collect your data is that you upload your pics to a shared google album (ask us to join). At the beginning of each month, we'll pull the data (copying it) so that you can clean your records. We assume that you'd prefer to free your own album from all those poop pics, right? 

📚References

Has dog fecal matter been linked to harmful ecological impacts both on wildlife and humans? Yes. It has been studied for decades globally. So nothing new. The only thing that changed is the radical increase in the number of our pets, which amplifies contamination and deepens the problem. Here are a few references to get you started:

▫ Daily relative dog abundance, fecal density, and loading rates on intensively and minimally managed dog-friendly beaches in central California

by Stori C.Oates & al. (2017) > DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.10.062

▫ The Poop Problem: What To Do With 10 Million Tons of Dog Waste (2014)  > https://www.livescience.com/44732-eliminating-pet-poop-pollution.html

▫ Detection of Zoonotic Intestinal Parasites in Public Parks of Spain. Potential Epidemiological Role of Microsporidia

by D. Dado  & al. (2011) > DOI: 10.1111/j.1863-2378.2011.01411.x

▫ Les zoonoses parasitaires - L'infection chez les animaux et chez l'homme 

by Alain Villeneuve (2003)

 

Thanks! 

ⓘ About Earthwise Aware » www.earthwiseaware.org/

[EwA]

We're a few days away from uploading the December Fells dog poop record layer onto our dog poop map. 

If you have December pics (with GPS metadata) please share them with us before Dec 31st. get in touch or upload on the shared album for those who are already participating (I see some records already). 

I will pull the data on Jan 1st or 2nd. And then we'll move to the Jan records!

Otherwise happy New Year to all! 

- Claire