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Pernat N, Zscheischler J, Kampen H, Ostermann-Miyashita EF, Jeschke JM, Werner D. How media presence triggers participation in citizen science-The case of the mosquito monitoring project 'Mückenatlas'. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0262850. [PMID: 35176044 PMCID: PMC8853470 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0262850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Since 2012, the citizen science project ‘Mückenatlas’ has been supplementing the German mosquito monitoring programme with over 28,000 submissions of physical insect samples. As the factors triggering people to catch mosquitoes for science are still unknown, we analysed the influence of mass media reports on mosquito submission numbers. Based on a theoretical framework of how mass media affect citizen responsiveness, we identified five possible influencing factors related to citizen science: (i) project awareness and knowledge, (ii) attention (economy), (iii) individual characteristics of citizen scientists and targeted communication, (iv) spatial differences and varying affectedness, and (v) media landscape. Hypotheses based on these influencing factors were quantitatively and qualitatively tested with two datasets: clipping data of mass media reports (online, television, radio and print) referring to or focussing on the ‘Mückenatlas’, and corresponding data of ‘Mückenatlas’ submissions between 2014 and 2017. In general, the number of media reports positively affected the number of mosquito submissions on a temporal and spatial scale, i.e. many media reports provoke many mosquito submissions. We found that an already heightened public and media awareness of mosquito-relevant topics combined with a direct call-to-action in a media report title led to a maximum participation. Differences on federal state level, however, suggest that factors additional to quantitative media coverage trigger participation in the ‘Mückenatlas’, in particular the mosquito affectedness of the resident population. Lastly, media types appear to differ in their effects on the number of submissions. Our results show under which circumstances the media presence of the ’Mückenatlas’ is most effective in activating people to submit mosquito samples, and thus provide advice for designing communication strategies for citizen science projects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadja Pernat
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Jana Zscheischler
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
| | - Helge Kampen
- Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald–Insel Riems, Germany
| | - Emu-Felicitas Ostermann-Miyashita
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
- Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonathan M. Jeschke
- Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Doreen Werner
- Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Müncheberg, Germany
- Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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Aristeidou M, Herodotou C, Ballard HL, Young AN, Miller AE, Higgins L, Johnson RF. Exploring the participation of young citizen scientists in scientific research: The case of iNaturalist. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0245682. [PMID: 33465161 PMCID: PMC7815142 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245682] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Online citizen science projects have broadened options for accessing science and enabled different forms of participation in scientific research for adult and young volunteers. Yet, little is known regarding participation patterns among youth participants. Quantitative approaches were used to investigate the contribution of 183 young volunteers to citizen science on the iNaturalist platform and the participation behaviour that relates to their contribution. The participants accessed and used iNaturalist as part of one-day field-based events (bioblitzes) facilitated by museums. Compared to the observation behaviour of all iNaturalist users, as documented on the platform, the young volunteers observe fewer plants and birds, and more molluscs, arachnids and insects. The average daily contributions of young volunteers were found to be positively associated with a large proportion of active days on iNaturalist and a systematic contribution behaviour, yet negatively related to a long duration on the platform. This study enhances our understanding of young volunteers' contributions to citizen science and provides insights for research on participation in online citizen science. Our findings have implications on how museums design the field-based events to encourage follow-up systematic participation and maintain active contribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Aristeidou
- Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
| | - Christothea Herodotou
- Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom
| | - Heidi L. Ballard
- Center for Community and Citizen Science, UC Davis School of Education, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America
| | - Alison N. Young
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Annie E. Miller
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America
| | - Lila Higgins
- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Rebecca F. Johnson
- California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America
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Smith RC. Highlights in Medical Entomology, 2019: Familiar Foes and New Frontiers. J Med Entomol 2020; 57:1349-1353. [PMID: 32667035 PMCID: PMC7716807 DOI: 10.1093/jme/tjaa120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The 2019 Entomological Society of America annual meeting was held in St. Louis, Missouri, just blocks away from the iconic Gateway Arch. Representing a 'gateway to the West', this inspired the theme of the Highlights in Medical Entomology to reflect on the accomplishments of the past year as we move into a 'new frontier' of vector biology research. Papers were selected broadly across arthropods that influence public health, focusing on topics ranging from West Nile virus transmission, ticks and tick-borne disease, to advances in genetics and 'big data' studies. This included current perspectives on West Nile virus ecology and epidemiology, which has now been endemic in the United States for 20 yr. Additional topics such as the advantages of citizen science and the importance of scientific communication were also discussed. Together, these papers demonstrate the achievements of the vector community while emphasizing the challenges that we collectively face to reduce the burden of vector-borne disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan C Smith
- Department of Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA
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Abstract
A citation study of a sample of earth science projects in citizen science from the FedCats Catalog was undertaken to assess whether citizen science projects are as productive and as impactful as conventional research that does not employ volunteer participation as a part of their data gathering and analysis protocols. From the 783 peer-reviewed papers produced by 48 projects identified from project bibliographies, 12,380 citations were identified using the Web of Science archive and their citation search engine to the end of 2018. Various conventional productivity and impact measures were applied including the Impact Factor, H and M-indices, and entry into the Top-1000 papers in cited research. The earth science projects tend to under-perform in terms of Impact Factor (IF = 14-20) and the M-index (M<0.5) but perform at the level of a 'tenured professor' with <H> = 23. When compared to non-citizen science research in general, there is a ten-fold higher probability of the earth science papers reaching the Top-1000 threshold of most-cited papers in natural science research. Some of the reasons for the lower performance by some indicators may have to do with the down-turn in published papers after 2010 for the majority of the earth science projects, which itself could be related to the fact that 52% of these projects only became operational after 2010 compared to the more successful 'Top-3' projects, whose impacts resemble the general population of non-citizen science research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sten F. Odenwald
- ADNET Systems Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America
- NASA Space Science Education Consortium, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Ceccaroni L, Piera J, Wernand MR, Zielinski O, Busch JA, Van Der Woerd HJ, Bardaji R, Friedrichs A, Novoa S, Thijsse P, Velickovski F, Blaas M, Dubsky K. Citclops: A next-generation sensor system for the monitoring of natural waters and a citizens' observatory for the assessment of ecosystems' status. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230084. [PMID: 32214341 PMCID: PMC7098649 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The European-Commission—funded project ‘Citclops’ (Citizens’ observatory for coast and ocean optical monitoring) developed methods, tools and sensors, which can be used by citizens to monitor natural waters, with a strong focus on long-term data series related to environmental sciences. The new sensors, based on optical technologies, respond to a number of scientific, technical and societal objectives, ranging from more precise monitoring of key environmental descriptors of the aquatic environment (water colour, transparency and fluorescence) to an improved management of data collected with citizen participation. The sensors were tested, calibrated, integrated on several platforms, scientifically validated and demonstrated in the field. The new methods and tools were tested in a citizen-science context. The general conclusion is that citizens are valuable contributors in quality and quantity to the objective of collecting, integrating and analysing fragmented and diverse environmental data. An integration of these data into data-analysis tools has a large potential to support authoritative monitoring and decision-making. In this paper, the project’s objectives, results, technical achievements and lessons learned are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jaume Piera
- ICM, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marcel R. Wernand
- Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Hoorn, Netherlands
| | - Oliver Zielinski
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Marine Perception Research Group, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Julia A. Busch
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Marine Perception Research Group, German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence, Oldenburg, Germany
- Common Wadden Sea Secretariat, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
| | | | - Raul Bardaji
- Marine Technology Unit, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Anna Friedrichs
- Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment, University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
- Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | | | | | - Meinte Blaas
- Rijkswaterstaat Water Transport & Environment, Lelystad, Netherlands
| | - Karin Dubsky
- Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, University of Dublin Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
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Albus KH, Thompson R, Mitchell F, Kennedy J, Ponette-González AG. Accuracy of long-term volunteer water monitoring data: A multiscale analysis from a statewide citizen science program. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0227540. [PMID: 31995580 PMCID: PMC6988940 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0227540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
An increasing number of citizen science water monitoring programs is continuously collecting water quality data on streams throughout the United States. Operating under quality assurance protocols, this type of monitoring data can be extremely valuable for scientists and professional agencies, but in some cases has been of limited use due to concerns about the accuracy of data collected by volunteers. Although a growing body of studies attempts to address accuracy concerns by comparing volunteer data to professional data, rarely has this been conducted with large-scale datasets generated by citizen scientists. This study assesses the relative accuracy of volunteer water quality data collected by the Texas Stream Team (TST) citizen science program from 1992–2016 across the State of Texas by comparing it to professional data from corresponding stations during the same time period. Use of existing data meant that sampling times and protocols were not controlled for, thus professional and volunteer comparisons were refined to samples collected at stations within 60 meters of one another and during the same year. Results from the statewide TST dataset include 82 separate station/year ANOVAs and demonstrate that large-scale, existing volunteer and professional data with unpaired samples can show agreement of ~80% for all analyzed parameters (DO = 77%, pH = 79%, conductivity = 85%). In addition, to assess whether limiting variation within the source datasets increased the level of agreement between volunteers and professionals, data were analyzed at a local scale. Data from a single partner city, with increased controls on sampling times and locations and correction of a systematic bias in DO, confirmed this by showing an even greater agreement of 91% overall from 2009–2017 (DO = 91%, pH = 83%, conductivity = 100%). An experimental sampling dataset was analyzed and yielded similar results, indicating that existing datasets can be as accurate as experimental datasets designed with researcher supervision. Our findings underscore the reliability of large-scale citizen science monitoring datasets already in existence, and their potential value to scientific research and water management programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelly Hibbeler Albus
- Department of Biology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, United States of America
| | - Ruthanne Thompson
- Department of Biology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Forrest Mitchell
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America
| | - James Kennedy
- Department of Biology, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas, United States of America
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Rebolo-Ifrán N, di Virgilio A, Lambertucci SA. Drivers of bird-window collisions in southern South America: a two-scale assessment applying citizen science. Sci Rep 2019; 9:18148. [PMID: 31796795 PMCID: PMC6890675 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-54351-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Bird-window collisions are one of the main causes of avian mortality worldwide, with estimations reaching up to almost one billion of dead individuals annually due to this cause in Canada and the USA alone. Although this is a growing conservation problem, most of the studies come from North America, evidencing the lack of knowledge and concern in countries with high biodiversity and growing population development. Our objectives were: (1) to estimate the current situation of bird-window collisions in Argentina, a country with around 10% of the world's avian biodiversity, and, (2) to identify drivers of bird-window collisions at a national and local scale, focusing on a city surrounded by a protected area. We used a citizen science project called "Bird-Window Collisions in Argentina" that consisted of an online survey that collected data on collision metrics and risk factors. We found that more than half of participants reported at least one collision during the last year, suggesting this issue is common and widespread. In addition, our data show that the number of windows and the presence of vegetation reflected in windows are factors that strongly influence the risk of collision at national scale. On the other hand, the environment surrounding buildings affects the rate of bird-window collisions at local scale, being greater in buildings surrounded by tall vegetation than in buildings surrounded by a greater proportion of urbanization (human-made structures). We call for attention on a topic that has been poorly evaluated in South America. We also encourage future scientific studies to evaluate additional risk factors and mitigation strategies accordingly, to provide a better understanding of bird-window collisions particularly in a highly biodiverse region as South America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Rebolo-Ifrán
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Biología de la Conservación, Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET), Bariloche, Argentina.
| | - Agustina di Virgilio
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Biología de la Conservación, Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET), Bariloche, Argentina
| | - Sergio A Lambertucci
- Grupo de Investigaciones en Biología de la Conservación, Laboratorio Ecotono, INIBIOMA (Universidad Nacional del Comahue - CONICET), Bariloche, Argentina
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