Here you find publications in the field of citizen science from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna in the year 2020.

Co-Creating and Implementing Quality Criteria for Citizen Science

Involved BOKU Authors: Florian Heigl and Daniel Dörler

Institute: Institute of Zoology

Type of Publication: Case Study

Journal: Citizen Science: Theory and Practice

Date of Publication: 25. November 2020

Abstract:

The article describes the development and implementation process of the quality criteria for citizen science projects at Österreich forscht. This development process started in 2017, lasted for a whole year and included 4 feedback loops with project leaders who could not directly participate in the WG, with the international citizen science community and a public consultation for all people interested in citizen science.

You can find the full text here: https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/10.5334/cstp.294/

Designing wildlife-vehicle conflict observation systems to inform ecology and transportation studies

Involved BOKU Author: Florian Heigl

Institute: Institute of Zoology

Type of Publication: Review

Journal: Biological Conservation

Date of Publication: 05th October 2020

Abstract:

Globally, wildlife-vehicle conflict (WVC) fragments wildlife populations (due to road/traffic-aversion), kills and injures individual animals, can cause wildlife population declines, may eventually contribute to local or total extinction of certain species, and can harm vehicles and drivers. Preventing WVC begins with recording locations of conflict, such as vehicle crashes, animal carcasses (roadkill), or animal behavior around roads, such as avoidance of roads or crossing-behavior. These data are ideally used to inform transportation policy and planning and to retrofit roadways and their structures to reduce WVC. We are collectively involved with or manage eight regional or national systems for reporting WVC in collaboration with volunteers and/or agency staff. In this review, we survey systems for recording WVC by volunteers and agency staff at different geographical scales, based on existing literature and our personal experience. We report the range of data collection methods, data management systems and data visualizations employed as well as discuss the groups and type of volunteers and agencies involved. We use our expertise and the global survey to provide methodological specifications based on current best-practice for collecting and using WVC data to inform transportation and conservation decisions. We conclude with a vision of next steps toward a global network of WVC reporting systems, that have clear and practical applications for improved conservation research as well as guidelines for management of road networks.

You can find the fulltext here: https://zenodo.org/record/4276898

The Open Innovation in Science research field: a collaborative conceptualisation approach

Involved BOKU Authors: Daniel Dörler and Florian Heigl

Institute: Institute of Zoology

Typ of Publication: Article

Journal: Industry and Innovation

Date of Publication: 04th August 2020

Abstract:

Openness and collaboration in scientific research are attracting increasing attention from scholars and practitioners alike. However, a common understanding of these phenomena is hindered by disciplinary boundaries and disconnected research streams. We link dispersed knowledge on Open Innovation, Open Science, and related concepts such as Responsible Research and Innovation by proposing a unifying Open Innovation in Science (OIS) Research Framework. This framework captures the antecedents, contingencies, and consequences of open and collaborative practices along the entire process of generating and disseminating scientific insights and translating them into innovation. Moreover, it elucidates individual-, team-, organisation-, field-, and society‐level factors shaping OIS practices. To conceptualise the framework, we employed a collaborative approach involving 47 scholars from multiple disciplines, highlighting both tensions and commonalities between existing approaches. The OIS Research Framework thus serves as a basis for future research, informs policy discussions, and provides guidance to scientists and practitioners.

You can find the fulltext here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13662716.2020.1792274?scroll=top&needAccess=true

Dispersal patterns of an introduced wild bee, Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) in European alpine countries

Involved BOKU Authors: Julia Lanner, Katharina Huchler, Bärbel Pachinger, Harald Meimberg

Institute: Institute for integrative nature conservation research

Typ of Publication: Article

Journal: PlosOne

Date of Publication: 10th July 2020

Abstract:

Megachile sculpturalis Smith, 1853 native to Eastern-Asia, constitutes the first ever recorded wild bee species accidently introduced in Europe. By initiating a citizen science monitoring program, we aimed to investigate the occurrence pattern of M. sculpturalis. Within only two years after starting the project, 111 new reports from Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Austria were recorded. Comparably to other European countries, the population progressed remarkably fast from year to year expanding its area geographically but also ecologically by increasing its altitudinal range. The distribution pattern indicates human assisted jump-dispersal travelling on the major traffic routes of central Europe.

You can find the full text here: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0236042

Benefits and challenges of collaborating with volunteers: Examples from National Wildlife Roadkill Reporting Systems in Europe

Involved BOKU Authors: Florian Heigl

Institute: Institute of Zoology

Type of Publication: Article

Journal: Journal for Nature Conservation

Date of Publication: 20th January 2020

Abstract:

Daily, a large number of animals are killed on European roads due to collisions with vehicles. A high proportion of these events, however, are not documented, as those obliged to collect such data, only record a small proportion; the police only register collisions that lead to traffic accidents, and hunters only collect data on game wildlife. Such reports disproportionately under-records small vertebrates such as birds, small mammals, amphibians and reptiles. In the last decade, however, national wildlife roadkill reporting systems have been launched, largely working with citizen scientists to collect roadkill data on a national basis that could fill this data gap. The aim of this study is, therefore, to describe for the first time, existing projects in Europe, and the user groups that submit data to them. To give a deeper understanding of such projects, we describe exemplar scientific roadkill reporting systems that currently exist in Austria, Belgium, Czechia and the United Kingdom. We define groups of people who contribute to such citizen science activities, and report our experience and best practice with these volunteers. We conclude that volunteers contribute significantly to collecting data on species that are not typically recorded in official databases. To ensure citizen-science projects perpetuate, (I) volunteers need to be motivated by the organisers to participate on a long-term basis, (II) volunteers need support in identifying roadkill species where required, and (III) regular feedback is required on how their contribution is used to produce new scientific knowledge.

You can find the full text here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138119303449