New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Citizen scientists lead the way in exciting new research

Date:
December 11, 2014
Source:
British Ecological Society (BES)
Summary:
From the ponds of Paris to the quintessentially English floodplain meadow, hundreds of sites are now being studied by thousands of citizen scientists across Europe. Data collected by these enthusiastic volunteers provide vital information for researchers, environmental managers and policy makers.
Share:
FULL STORY

From the ponds of Paris to the quintessentially English floodplain meadow, hundreds of sites are now being studied by thousands of citizen scientists across Europe. Data collected by these enthusiastic volunteers provide vital information for researchers, environmental managers and policy makers, and their extraordinary contribution to ecology is being celebrated at the joint BES/SFE meeting in Lille this week.

Professor Nathalie Machon from the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle will discuss the latest results from the 'Sauvages de ma rue' project. By encouraging members of the public to record plant species growing in urban environments, the project is helping people learn how to identify wild species on their doorsteps at the same time as collecting vital data on urban biodiversity.

Thanks to thousands of plant records submitted by enthusiastic volunteers, Sauvages de ma rue has created a new way to measure the quality of biodiversity in urban environments. The scale is based on the proportion of plant species that are pollinated by insects, and the higher the number, the healthier the environment and the greater the diversity of species.

And the scale will also help local authorities, says Professor Machon: "Our work will provide managers or local councils with a simple tool that they can use to asses biodiversity in their districts with the hope that it will encourage them to employ better practices that will improve the quality of biodiversity in our cities."

In the UK, the Open University has led another successful citizen science project to monitor populations of the rare snakeshead fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris). This beautiful, delicate plant was once common in meadows throughout the country but intensive agriculture and development have destroyed much of its habitat.

The Floodplain Meadows Partnership, a project hosted by the Open University, runs annual events for volunteers to measure and count snakeshead fritillaries in sites across south west England. The plants are largely pollinated by bumblebees so volunteers are also encouraged to complete 'bee walk' surveys that were developed by the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to monitor changes in bumblebee populations throughout the summer months.

According to Emma Rothero of the Floodplain Meadows Partnership: "We have trained volunteers to collect rigorous data that is proven to be of similar quality to that collected by experts. Our volunteers have shown that snakeshead fritillaries can lie dormant for a year and are providing new information about their population ecology and life history, including their response to extreme flooding conditions."

Professor Machon and Ms Rothero are part of a special symposium celebrating citizen science at this year's joint BES/SFE meeting. Other citizen science projects being showcased at the meeting include the environmental monitoring scheme FreshWater Watch, the social network for naturalists, iSpot and the 50th anniversary of the UK Biological Records Centre.


Story Source:

Materials provided by British Ecological Society (BES). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

British Ecological Society (BES). "Citizen scientists lead the way in exciting new research." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 December 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211210004.htm>.
British Ecological Society (BES). (2014, December 11). Citizen scientists lead the way in exciting new research. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 18, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211210004.htm
British Ecological Society (BES). "Citizen scientists lead the way in exciting new research." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141211210004.htm (accessed March 18, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES