Citizen Science Opportunity

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My name is Sandra Hoffberg and I am a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University in New York. I am posting about an opportunity for you to do some citizen science and help me with my research. I am embarking on a multi-year comprehensive study of the Amaranthus genus, which contains (healthy grain) crops, (herbicide resistant) weeds, and other relatives.

I want to understand how all species are related to each other. I will be able to use this information to answer questions like (1) Which species did the crop species evolve from? (2) Between which amaranth species and geographic regions do we expect traits, such as herbicide resistance, to spread? I need seeds from all different Amaranthus (common name: amaranth, pigweed and/or waterhemp) species from many different locations.

Participation in this project involves:

1. Collecting seeds from an amaranth plant and putting them in an envelope
2. Labeling the seeds with the GPS point (or address) where you collected them
3. Mailing me the seeds – I’ll pay for postage

If you are interested in participating, please contact me here. I appreciate your important contributions to my research!