Hello, Ecolog! This is just a reminder that #SciFund, the largest Science Crowdfunding project on the internet, has nearing the end of its second round at http://scifund.rockethub.com. This round, with 75 scientists involved, we've raised nearly $72K, and there are still 9 days to go!
I'm not emailing this listserv to ask people to go and donate. Although, if you're inclined, great. What we'd be even more interested in is if you would send this information out to friends, students, etc., who would be interested in learning more about some of the great science being done by #SciFund participants. The goal behind #SciFund is to give scientists an incentive to get out there and begin to couple outreach to the earliest stages of their research programs. Participants create videos about their research, and create rewards for donations that will involve the general public in their work into the future. There are some great ecological projects, and here are just a few! Resurrecting Daphnia to track historic pollution impacts: http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7465-resurrection-ecology Does tagging influence Fur Seals? http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7458-as- the-fur-flies-tracking-fur-seals How do invasive species effects cascade to affect chili peppers in Guam? http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7544-snakes-birds-and-disappearing-chile- peppers Differences in Body Size & Biogeography in Goliath Crabs http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7449-beach-of-the-goliath-crabs Weeds of the Wasted West http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7560-weeds-of- the-wasted-west Climate Change & Castrating Barnacles http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7476-a-climate-for-castrators Amazonian Forest Fire http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7446-amazon-on-fire- which-species-will-thrive Remote Webcam Tracking of Penguin Populations http://www.rockethub.com/projects/7548-a-satellite-webcam-for-penguins For more projects and videos, check out http://www.rockethub.com/projects/scifund. If you're interested in science crowdfunding in general, check out this great post by Zen Faulkes http://neurodojo.blogspot.com/2012/05/why- crowdfunding-is-needed-precis.html and the #SciFund blog http://scifundchallenge.org/blog/ which also has a statistical analysis of some results from round 1. Thanks, and, please, spread the word! - Mary --- Mary Rogalski PhD Candidate Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
