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Chowdhury S, Fuller RA, Ahmed S, Alam S, Callaghan CT, Das P, Correia RA, Di Marco M, Di Minin E, Jarić I, Labi MM, Ladle RJ, Rokonuzzaman M, Roll U, Sbragaglia V, Siddika A, Bonn A. Using social media records to inform conservation planning. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2024; 38:e14161. [PMID: 37551776 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.14161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023]
Abstract
Citizen science plays a crucial role in helping monitor biodiversity and inform conservation. With the widespread use of smartphones, many people share biodiversity information on social media, but this information is still not widely used in conservation. Focusing on Bangladesh, a tropical megadiverse and mega-populated country, we examined the importance of social media records in conservation decision-making. We collated species distribution records for birds and butterflies from Facebook and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), grouped them into GBIF-only and combined GBIF and Facebook data, and investigated the differences in identifying critical conservation areas. Adding Facebook data to GBIF data improved the accuracy of systematic conservation planning assessments by identifying additional important conservation areas in the northwest, southeast, and central parts of Bangladesh, extending priority conservation areas by 4,000-10,000 km2 . Community efforts are needed to drive the implementation of the ambitious Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets, especially in megadiverse tropical countries with a lack of reliable and up-to-date species distribution data. We highlight that conservation planning can be enhanced by including available data gathered from social media platforms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawan Chowdhury
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sultan Ahmed
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Shofiul Alam
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Corey T Callaghan
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA
| | - Priyanka Das
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Ricardo A Correia
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Di Minin
- Department of Geosciences and Geography, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa
| | - Ivan Jarić
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Orsay, France
- Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | | | - Richard J Ladle
- CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação Em Biodiversidade E Recursos Genéticos, Universidade Do Porto, Vairão, Portugal
- Institute of Biological and Health Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil
| | - M Rokonuzzaman
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Uri Roll
- Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel
| | - Valerio Sbragaglia
- Department of Marine Renewable Resources, Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Asma Siddika
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Aletta Bonn
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany
- Department of Ecosystem Services, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
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Chowdhury S, Aich U, Rokonuzzaman M, Alam S, Das P, Siddika A, Ahmed S, Labi MM, Marco MD, Fuller RA, Callaghan CT. Increasing biodiversity knowledge through social media: A case study from tropical Bangladesh. Bioscience 2023; 73:453-459. [PMID: 37397834 PMCID: PMC10308356 DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biad042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Citizen science programs are becoming increasingly popular among naturalists but remain heavily biased taxonomically and geographically. However, with the explosive popularity of social media and the near-ubiquitous availability of smartphones, many post wildlife photographs on social media. Here, we illustrate the potential of harvesting these data to enhance our biodiversity understanding using Bangladesh, a tropical biodiverse country, as a case study. We compared biodiversity records extracted from Facebook with those from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), collating geospatial records for 1013 unique species, including 970 species from Facebook and 712 species from GBIF. Although most observation records were biased toward major cities, the Facebook records were more evenly spatially distributed. About 86% of the Threatened species records were from Facebook, whereas the GBIF records were almost entirely Of Least Concern species. To reduce the global biodiversity data shortfall, a key research priority now is the development of mechanisms for extracting and interpreting social media biodiversity data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawan Chowdhury
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, in Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, in Jena, Germany
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, Department of Ecosystem Services, in Leipzig, Germany
- German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research, in Leipzig, Germany
| | - Upama Aich
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, in Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Md Rokonuzzaman
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Shofiul Alam
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Priyanka Das
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Asma Siddika
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Sultan Ahmed
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, in Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | | | - Moreno Di Marco
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, in Rome, Italy
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, in Saint Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Corey T Callaghan
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
- Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, United States
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Yu XT, Yang FL, Da W, Li YC, Xi HM, Cotton AM, Zhang HH, Duan K, Xu ZB, Gong ZX, Wang WL, Hu SJ. Species Richness of Papilionidae Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) in the Hengduan Mountains and Its Future Shifts under Climate Change. INSECTS 2023; 14:259. [PMID: 36975944 PMCID: PMC10058169 DOI: 10.3390/insects14030259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
The family of Papilionidae (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) is a group of butterflies with high ecological and conservation value. The Hengduan Mountains (HMDs) in Southwest China is an important diversity centre for these butterflies. However, the spatial distribution pattern and the climate vulnerability of Papilionidae butterflies in the HDMs remain unknown to date. The lack of such knowledge has already become an obstacle in formulating effective butterfly conservation strategies. The present research compiled a 59-species dataset with 1938 occurrence points. The Maxent model was applied to analyse the spatial pattern of species richness in subfamilies Parnassiinae and Papilioninae, as well as to predict the response under the influence of climate change. The spatial pattern of both subfamilies in the HDMs has obvious elevation prevalence, with Parnassiinae concentrated in the subalpine to alpine areas (2500-5500 m) in western Sichuan, northwestern Yunnan and eastern Tibet, while Papilioninae is concentrated in the low- to medium-elevation areas (1500-3500 m) in the river valleys of western Yunnan and western Sichuan. Under the influence of climate change, both subfamilies would exhibit northward and upward range shifts. The majority of Parnassiinae species would experience drastic habitat contraction, resulting in lower species richness across the HDMs. In contrast, most Papilioninae species would experience habitat expansion, and the species richness would also increase significantly. The findings of this research should provide new insights and a clue for butterfly diversity and climatic vulnerability in southwestern China. Future conservation efforts should be focused on species with habitat contraction, narrow-ranged distribution and endemicity with both in situ and ex situ measures, especially in protected areas. Commercialised collecting targeting these species must also be regulated by future legislation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Tong Yu
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Asian International River Center, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Fei-Ling Yang
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Asian International River Center, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Wa Da
- Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology, Lhasa 850008, China
| | - Yu-Chun Li
- Yulong Xueshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Yulong, Lijiang 674100, China
| | - Hong-Mei Xi
- Yulong Xueshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Yulong, Lijiang 674100, China
| | - Adam M. Cotton
- 86/2 Moo 5, Tambon Nong Kwai, Hang Dong, Chiang Mai 50230, Thailand
| | - Hui-Hong Zhang
- School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Kuang Duan
- School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Zhen-Bang Xu
- School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Zhi-Xian Gong
- Yulong Xueshan Provincial Nature Reserve, Yulong, Lijiang 674100, China
| | - Wen-Ling Wang
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Asian International River Center, Kunming 650500, China
| | - Shao-Ji Hu
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
- Asian International River Center, Kunming 650500, China
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Chowdhury S, Zalucki MP, Amano T, Woodworth BK, Venegas-Li R, Fuller RA. Seasonal spatial dynamics of butterfly migration. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:1814-1823. [PMID: 34145940 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13787] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 05/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the seasonal movements of migratory species underpins ecological studies. Several hundred butterfly species show migratory behaviour, yet the spatial pattern of these migrations is poorly understood. We developed climatic niche models for 405 migratory butterfly species globally to estimate patterns of seasonal movement and the distribution of seasonal habitat suitability. We found strong seasonal variation in habitat suitability for most migratory butterflies with >75% of pixels within their distributions showing seasonal switching in predicted occupancy for 85% of species. The greatest rate of seasonal switching occurred in the tropics. Several species showed extreme range fluctuations between seasons, exceeding 10-fold for 53 species (13%) and more than 100-fold for nine species (2%), suggesting that such species may be at elevated extinction risk. Our results can be used to search for the ecological processes that underpin migration in insects, as well as to design conservation interventions for declining migratory insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawan Chowdhury
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Myron P Zalucki
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Tatsuya Amano
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Bradley K Woodworth
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Ruben Venegas-Li
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld, Australia
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Chowdhury S, Shahriar SA, Böhm M, Jain A, Aich U, Zalucki MP, Hesselberg T, Morelli F, Benedetti Y, Persson AS, Roy DK, Rahman S, Ahmed S, Fuller RA. Urban green spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh, harbour nearly half the country’s butterfly diversity. JOURNAL OF URBAN ECOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/jue/juab008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Cities currently harbour more than half of the world’s human population and continued urban expansion replaces natural landscapes and increases habitat fragmentation. The impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity have been extensively studied in some parts of the world, but there is limited information from South Asia, despite the rapid expansion of cities in the region. Here, we present the results of monthly surveys of butterflies in three urban parks in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, over a 3-year period (January 2014 to December 2016). We recorded 45% (137 of the 305 species) of the country’s butterfly richness, and 40% of the species detected are listed as nationally threatened. However, butterfly species richness declined rapidly in the three study areas over the 3-year period, and the decline appeared to be more severe among threatened species. We developed linear mixed effect models to assess the relationship between climatic variables and butterfly species richness. Overall, species richness was positively associated with maximum temperature and negatively with mean relative humidity and saturation deficit. Our results demonstrate the importance of urban green spaces for nationally threatened butterflies. With rapidly declining urban green spaces in Dhaka and other South Asian cities, we are likely to lose refuges for threatened fauna. There is an urgent need to understand urban biodiversity dynamics in the region, and for proactive management of urban green spaces to protect butterflies in South Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawan Chowdhury
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
| | - Shihab A Shahriar
- Department of Environmental Science and Disaster Management, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali, Bangladesh
| | - Monika Böhm
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4RY, UK
| | - Anuj Jain
- BirdLife International (Asia), 354 Tanglin Road, #01-16/17, Tanglin International Centre, Singapore, 247672, Singapore
- Nature Society (Singapore), 510 Geylang Road, Singapore 389466, Singapore
| | - Upama Aich
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2600, Australia
| | - Myron P Zalucki
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
| | | | - Federico Morelli
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Community Ecology & Conservation, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, CZ-165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Yanina Benedetti
- Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Community Ecology & Conservation, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, CZ-165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
| | - Anna S Persson
- Center for Environment and Climate Research (CEC), Lund University, Lund, Sweden
| | - Deponkor K Roy
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Saima Rahman
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Sultan Ahmed
- Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, QLD 4072, Australia
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Chowdhury S, Fuller RA, Dingle H, Chapman JW, Zalucki MP. Migration in butterflies: a global overview. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:1462-1483. [PMID: 33783119 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Insect populations including butterflies are declining worldwide, and they are becoming an urgent conservation priority in many regions. Understanding which butterfly species migrate is critical to planning for their conservation, because management actions for migrants need to be coordinated across time and space. Yet, while migration appears to be widespread among butterflies, its prevalence, as well as its taxonomic and geographic distribution are poorly understood. The study of insect migration is hampered by their small size and the difficulty of tracking individuals over long distances. Here we review the literature on migration in butterflies, one of the best-known insect groups. We find that nearly 600 butterfly species show evidence of migratory movements. Indeed, the rate of 'discovery' of migratory movements in butterflies suggests that many more species might in fact be migratory. Butterfly migration occurs across all families, in tropical as well as temperate taxa; Nymphalidae has more migratory species than any other family (275 species), and Pieridae has the highest proportion of migrants (13%; 133 species). Some 13 lines of evidence have been used to ascribe migration status in the literature, but only a single line of evidence is available for 92% of the migratory species identified, with four or more lines of evidence available for only 10 species - all from the Pieridae and Nymphalidae. Migratory butterflies occur worldwide, although the geographic distribution of migration in butterflies is poorly resolved, with most data so far coming from Europe, USA, and Australia. Migration is much more widespread in butterflies than previously realised - extending far beyond the well-known examples of the monarch Danaus plexippus and the painted lady Vanessa cardui - and actions to conserve butterflies and insects in general must account for the spatial dependencies introduced by migratory movements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawan Chowdhury
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Richard A Fuller
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Hugh Dingle
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Jason W Chapman
- Biosciences, Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, TR10 9FE, UK.,College of Plant Protection, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China
| | - Myron P Zalucki
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, QLD, 4072, Australia
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