Mag. Dr. Daniel Dörler
Institute of Zoology
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33
1180 Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 1 47654 - 83320
Fax: +43 1 47654 - 83309
E-mail: daniel.doerler(at)boku.ac.at
Room: MENH-01/04
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Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Florian Heigl
Institute of Zoology
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Gregor-Mendel-Straße 33
1180 Vienna
Austria
Phone: +43 1 47654 - 83320
Fax: +43 1 47654 - 83309
E-mail: florian.heigl(at)boku.ac.at
Room: MENH-01/04
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The citizen science working group is led by Daniel Dörler and Florian Heigl and deals with citizen science on a theoretical and practical level. In simple terms, citizen science is the active involvement of citizens in scientific projects. The working group operates and coordinates the Citizen Science Network Austria and the associated platform Österreich forscht. The theoretical level of research on citizen science includes, on the one hand, the quality assurance of citizen science, the characteristics of citizen science projects and the definition of citizen science. On the practical level, mainly ecological projects with citizen science approaches are part of the daily research work. Above all, the areas of road ecology and invasive species form two particular focal points in the research activities of the working group.
This project investigates which vertebrates die on Austria's roads. It also investigates the possible causes.
Our clear goal is to reduce the number of roadkills as much as possible by getting to the bottom of the causes of roadkills.
The first step is to get an overview of the number, extent and prevalence of road kill in Austria. By compiling many individual pieces of data into a large dataset, we try to find out under which conditions (e.g. weather), in which places (forest, meadow, local area, ...) and on which roads animals are killed on the roads.
As well as answering these scientific questions, we also want to identify 'hotspots' - places where roadkill is most common. We will then work with authorities, NGOs and communities to minimise these hotspots.
The overall aim of the Roadkill project is to raise awareness of roadkill among all stakeholders.
Biodiversity at the cemetery
The BaF - Biodiversity in Cemeteries project aims to promote cemeteries as unique habitats for flora and fauna and to strengthen and protect their ecological importance. Cemeteries offer ideal conditions for biodiversity due to their tranquillity, old trees and diverse plant structure. The project aims to survey and strengthen the existing biodiversity, raise public awareness and implement targeted (protection) measures. Together with municipalities, cemetery operators and nature conservation organisations, concepts are being developed to make maintenance more environmentally friendly. The aim is to establish cemeteries as oases of biodiversity while preserving them as places of remembrance and recreation.
Leading Lights
Science communication is a rapidly developing field and of great importance, especially for young researchers. In this project, scientists (Postdoc Level) will be trained in different forms of science communcation. The coaching involves workshops coaching sessions in small groups. Visibility will be enhanced by featuring the researchers on BOKU social media channels. In addition, a podcast will be launched to highlight the work of young, inspiring researchers that serve as role models for future scientific generations.
Project archive / finished projects
Master and doctoral theses
Raphael von Dyck: Roadkill Hedgehog Project
Hedgehogs are among the species most frequently killed by road traffic (Rondini & Doncaster 2002). Looking at the data from the Roadkill App, it appears that hedgehogs are the most frequently reported species, with a share of almost 20%. The Master's thesis aims to answer the following questions: Where in Austria are hotspots of hedgehog roadkills? What does the environment of these roadkills look like and to which land use category can they be assigned? In which months do hedgehog roadkills occur? Does this correspond to the frequency of hedgehog roadkills in summer and in populated areas described in existing literature? What mitigation measures are available that could be used to reduce hedgehog roadkills?
Florin Hirnschall: Bestandserhebung von seltenen / bedrohten / invasiven Wildtierarten mithilfe von Citizen Science am Beispiel des Feldhamsters in Niederösterreich
Daniel Issel: Habitat use and co-occurrence of badgers (Meles meles) and hedgehogs (E. europaeus & E. romanicus) in Vienna. A citizen science approach
Chiara Fedrigotti: Explore the potential of Citizen Science data for the monitoring and conservation of NATURA 2000 species
This research project aims to explore the potential of citizen science observations to infer ecological information about species of conservation concern (Natura 2000, in particular) in an alpine Italian province (Trentino). The study will provide useful information to identify possible gaps in data coverage to improve the design of future citizen science project and reach a more effective integration with standard monitoring activities. The starting point will be the assessment of spatial, temporal and taxonomical coverage of CS data within the study area. We will also try to understand the extent to which citizen science can add new information about threatened species compared to professional data. Finally, we will try to assess species sensitivity to human-dominated landscape through citizen science data, in order to identify which species or taxa could be more affected by possible habitat loss or degradation.
Advisory board: Johann G. Zaller (BOKU), Florian Heigl (BOKU), Daniel Dörler (BOKU), Paolo Pedrini (Conservation Biology Unit, MUSE-Science Museum of Trento), Andrea Sforzi (Maremma Natural History Museum)
The Trung Hoang: Evaluate the suitability of citizen science approaches for forest fire management in central Vietnam
Forest fires, increasingly intensified by climate change, pose significant threats to human health, livelihoods, and ecosystems globally. To effectively prevent and suppress these fires, accurate, timely, and comprehensive data on forest fires and their fuels is essential. This research project aims to evaluate the suitability of a mobile phone application, inspired by citizen science methods, as a tool for collecting forest fire and fuel data for managing fire risks. The study will provide an overview and guidance to researchers on evaluating a citizen sciences project through a case study in Thua Thien Hue province, a fire-prone region in Vietnam. It also identifies necessity and sufficiency criteria to guide and inspire further development for citizen sciences in the context of forest fire management. Furthermore, this study will potentially serve as more efficient alternatives to raise awareness and improve fire prevention and fighting efforts from the public to support fire management strategies.
Advisory board: Harald Vacik (BOKU), Herbert Formayer (BOKU), Florian Heigl (BOKU), Quang Bao Tran (Vietnam Department of Forestry)
2022
Patrick Diem: Animal roadkills in Austria between 2014-2021: associations between hotspots, land cover and road types based on citizen science.
2020
Maria Peer: Plant phenology as indicator for the beginning of migration of three Central European amphibian species : analysis based on citizen science data.
2019
Irene Hoppe: Igel-Roadkill im Wiener Stadtgebiet - Analyse des Einflusses von Landnutzung mittels Citizen Science und anderer öffentlicher Daten.
Kathrin Horvath: Hotspotanalyse und Resultate von Amphibien- und Reptilien-Roadkills im Nordburgenland anhand von Daten aus dem Citizen Science Projekt Roadkill und CORINE Land Cover.
2017
Carina Rosemarie Stretz: Linking European hare (Lepus europaeus) vehicle collisions with landscape structure with datasets from citizen scientists and hunters.
2019
Daniel Dörler: Ecology and Control of Invasive Slugs: Interactions with Environmental Factors and Soil Fauna. BOKU:LITsearch
2017
Florian Heigl: Project Roadkill Towards a citizen observatory system for road-killed animals. BOKU:LITsearch
Complete publication lists (incl. links to the open access articles) in the BOKU Research Information System (FIS) by Florian Heigl and Daniel Dörler.
