Red foxes (Vulpes vulpes L.) have become successful inhabitants of urban areas in recent years. However, our knowledge about the occurrence, distribution and association with land uses of these urban foxes is poor, partly because many favoured habitats are on private properties and therefore hardly accessible to scientists. We assumed that citizen science, i.e. the involvement of the public, could enable researchers to bridge this information gap. We analysed 1179 fox sightings in the city of Vienna, Austria reported via citizen science projects to examine relationships between foxes and the surrounding land use classes as well as sociodemographic parameters.
Results
Conditional probabilities of encountering foxes were substantially higher in gardens, areas with a low building density, parks or squares as compared to agricultural areas, industrial areas or forests. Generalized linear model analyses showed that sociodemographic parameters such as education levels, district area, population density and average household income additionally improved the predictability of fox sightings.
Conclusions
Reports of fox sightings by citizen scientists might help to support the establishment of wildlife management in cities. Additionally, these data could be used to address public health issues in relation with red foxes as they can carry zoonoses that are also dangerous to humans.
Book: Citizen Science – Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy
Date of publication: 15th October 2018
Abstract:
Highlights: • Strategic capacity-building programmes have been initiated at the European and national scale leading to the development of the Socientize Green and White Paper for Citizen Science in Europe and the Greenpaper Citizen Science Strategy 2020 for Germany. • These programmes have broader relevance in informing national and supranational programmes elsewhere in the world. • Capacity building involves five main steps: (1) identifying and engag- ing different actors, (2) assessing capacities and needs for citizen sci- ence in the setting under focus, (3) developing a vision, missions and action plans, (4) developing resources such as websites and guidance, as well as (5) implementation and evaluation of citizen science programmes. • Capacity building is an iterative and adaptive process that needs a sound engagement of all involved actors from society, science and policy.
Book: Citizen Science – Innovation in Open Science, Society and Policy
Date of publication: 15th October 2018
Abstract:
Highlights • Evaluation concepts for citizen science are required both by policy- makers, to improve citizen science funding schemes and by project initiatives, to enhance their project management. • Citizen science programmes should be evaluated along three dimen- sions of participatory science: (i) scientific impact, (ii) learning and empowerment of participants and (iii) impact for wider society. • Evaluation and impact assessment should embrace the diversity and emerging nature of citizen science. • An open framework for evaluation can be adapted and tailored to the specific goals of citizen science programmes.
Citizen science (CS) terms the active participation of the general public in scientific research activities. With increasing amounts of information generated by citizen scientists, best practices to go beyond science communication and publish these findings to the scientific community are needed. This letter is a synopsis of authors' personal experiences when publishing results from citizen science projects in peer-reviewed journals, as presented at the Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2018. Here, we address authors' selection criteria for publishing CS data in open-access, peer-reviewed scientific journals as well as barriers encountered during the publishing process. We also outline factors that influence the probability of publication using CS data, including 1) funding to cover publication costs; 2) quality, quantity and scientific novelty of CS data; 3) recommendations to acknowledge contributions of citizen scientists in scientific, peer-reviewed publications; 4) citizen scientists' preference of the hands-on experience over the product (publication) and 5) bias among scientists for certain data sources and the scientific jargon. These experiences show that addressing these barriers could greatly increase the rate of CS data included in scientific publications.
In recent years, Citizen Science has experienced an enormous growth in Austria. Since 2015 the Citizen Science Network Austria has organised the annual Austrian Citizen Science Conference, which connects researchers, practitioners and interested citizens to learn from each other, exchange experiences and new methods. Under the motto "Expanding Horizons", the focus of the 2017 conference was on the involvement of citizens in projects and what conditions are needed to increase participation. Workshops, panel discussions and presentations have addressed these questions in a wide variety of disciplines. In the proceedings there are now 17 contributions on workshop results, findings from individual sessions, lecture content and more. The disciplines range from the natural sciences to the humanities and social sciences to the arts and cultural sciences.
Occurrence of the invasive Spanish slug in gardens: can a citizen science approach help deciphering underlying factors?
CC BY 4.0 Daniel Dörler
Involved BOKU Authors:Daniel Dörler, Matthias Kropf, Gregor Laaha, Johann G. Zaller Institutes:Institut für Zoologie und Institut für Integrative NaturschutzforschungType of Publication: Research Article Journal:BMC EcologyDate of Publication: 02nd August 2018 Abstract: The study by Daniel Dörler, Matthias Kropf, Gregor Laaha and Johann G. Zaller shows that by combining Citizen Science with DNA barcoding, the invasive Spanish slug (Arion vulgaris) can be found in Austrian gardens. A. vulgaris was found in gardens all over Austria. The gardens extended from the Pannonian region, e.g. in Lower Austria, to alpine valleys, e.g. in Tyrol. It was also found that climate factors such as frost days in winter, precipitation in spring or dry days in summer, but also garden parameters such as plant diversity, influence the frequency of slugs in gardens. You can find the full text here:https://bit.ly/2ACSBlF
The threefold potential of environmental citizen science - Generating knowledge, creating learning opportunities and enabling civic participation
CC0 | pixabay (https://bit.ly/2JFZli3)
Involved BOKU Authors:Daniel Dörler and Florian HeiglInstitute:Institute of ZoologyType of Publication: Research Article Journal:Biological ConservationDate of Publication: 17th July 2018 Abstract: Citizen science offers significant innovation potential in science, society and policy. To foster environmental and conservation goals, citizen science can (i) generate new knowledge, (ii) enhance awareness raising and facilitate in-depth learning as well as (iii) enable civic participation. Here, we investigate how these aims are realised in citizen science projects and assess needs and challenges for advancing citizen science and stimulating future initiatives. To this end, we conducted a quantitative, web-based survey with 143 experts from the environmental and educational sector in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Our findings show that citizen science project managers pursue goals related to all three areas of potential impact. Interestingly, enabling civic participation was considered slightly less important in relation to generating new knowledge and creating learning opportunities. Different areas of necessary action emerge from our analysis. To fully realize the potential of citizen science for generating knowledge, priority should be given to enhance capacities to more effectively share research results with the scientific community through publication, also in scientific journals. Systematic evaluation is needed to gain a better understanding of citizen science learning outcomes, for which criteria need to be developed. Fostering project formats that allow participants to get involved in the whole research process – from posing the study question to implementing results – could enhance the transformative aspect of citizen science at a societal level. Important structural aspects that need to be addressed include adjustments in funding schemes, facilitation of communication between citizens and academia-based scientists, and offers for training, guidance and networking. You can find the full text here:https://bit.ly/2NYFs9h
