Zebra Mussel Safari: A Participatory Science Program to Guide Management Decisions

Abstract

These data contain the materials provided to volunteers, including a photo analysis background template, installation instructions, an R Shiny application, a Qualtrics survey, and video tutorials. The CSV file contains zebra mussel abundance data for the 2023 season in which four counting methods were compared: manual hand counts, camera photos analyzed via CountThings, participant-submitted photos analyzed via CountThings, and camera photos manually adjusted for any errors in CountThings. The data spans across the 7 Minnesota lakes participating in the 2023 season. Additionally, a CSV file for the 2024 season is included, containing zebra mussel count data collected using the participant-submitted photos from 15 Minnesota lakes.The Zebra Mussel Safari program is a participatory science initiative aimed at monitoring zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) populations within Minnesota lakes. This dataset includes materials designed to support and ease volunteers' participation in the program. Additionally, the dataset includes zebra mussel abundance data collected from the seven Minnesota lakes involved in the 2023 program.Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center (MAISRC) and the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).Lorentz, Sawyer; Bajcz, Alex; Weber, Megan; Duhr, Meg; Phelps, Nicholas B D. (2025). Zebra Mussel Safari: A Participatory Science Program to Guide Management Decisions. Retrieved from the Data Repository for the University of Minnesota (DRUM), https://doi.org/10.13020/rnn4-bv86