Conclusions
We show that, in a general sense, there is power in combining community
sourced data and appropriate analytic techniques to understand
ecological trends across broad areas and environments. Both the
community science component and our detailed study of captive mountain
goats provided consistent predictions regarding the effect of animal
state, demonstrating that community science data can identify the same
ecological patterns available from a planned research study. Other
photo-based community science engagements using resources from museum
and newspaper archives, personal collections, and automated photo
processing methods have also been useful, including for understanding
the demise and re-expansion of black bears (Ursus americanus )
into desert environments (Lackey, Beckmann, and Sedinger, 2013). Our
project contributes to this knowledge base and substantiates a potential
way for researchers and the public to showcase collaborative approaches
to address specific scientific questions across large geographical
areas.