Abstract
During the era of biodiversity loss, a complete species census and understanding where the different species occur is of high priority. Even though this knowledge has increased tremendously, mainly with expanded use of integrated taxonomic identification, there are groups where our knowledge is very limited, both in terms of diversity and distribution. Ctenophores are such a group. Due to a lack of identification literature, damage to specimens during net sampling and sample processing, difficulties with preservation and a considerably undescribed diversity within the phylum, this group is often hard to work with. A citizen science approach was applied during a mapping campaign on ctenophore diversity along the Norwegian coast in order to have a broad geographical coverage. This was achieved by a collaboration with five diving clubs along a south-north geographical gradient that were briefly introduced to ctenophore taxonomy and ecology and sampling techniques using Whatman® FTA® Cards. The data collected by the participating divers gave a broad spatial coverage and provided information on ctenophore diversity in these regions. The use of FTA® Cards in the sampling allowed successful species and genus level identification using DNA barcodes. However, small obstacles such as accurate morphological species identification and labor-intensive issues were identified that can impede the use of large-scale citizen science approaches to map ctenophore diversity and thus recommendations for future implications that address these issues are proposed here.
Highlights
Science and international policies have declared understanding and conserving biodiversity as one of the priority areas for the coming decades, with a special focus on estimates and thorough quantification of biodiversity, the development of conservation tools, and measures to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functions (IPBES, 2019)
Accurate morphological species identification is challenging within the ctenophore groups and appears to be a common problem for both scientists and participants in the Citizen science (CS) approach
Difficulties in morphological identification are mainly due to the fragile structure of ctenophores and the requirement that specimens need to be in good shape for accurate species identification
Summary
Science and international policies have declared understanding and conserving biodiversity as one of the priority areas for the coming decades, with a special focus on estimates and thorough quantification of biodiversity, the development of conservation tools, and measures to sustain biodiversity and ecosystem functions (IPBES, 2019). Most of the existing long-term monitoring programs on marine plankton dynamics and diversity focus on spatial and temporal distribution patterns of phytoplankton or mesozooplankton groups that are easier to quantify and identify such as copepods or ichthyoplankton (Beaugrand, 2004; Hays et al, 2005; Wiltshire et al, 2010) while only a few timeseries include groups that are difficult to sample or identify based on traditional methods such as protozooplankton or gelatinous zooplankton (Attrill et al, 2007; Harris, 2010; Hinder et al, 2012) This bias in biodiversity assessments limits the understanding of local-to-global patterns of biodiversity, challenging assessments on the ecological status of a system and hampering the predictions on future biodiversity change and species loss
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