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.