The Role of Natural History Collections in Public Engagement for Enhancing Biodiversity Research

Abstract

Citizen science biodiversity monitoring projects are becoming very common. It is generally accepted that these joint projects, of scientists and the public, have a positive effect on biodiversity and conservation education programs as well as on policy-makers opinion Ganzevoort et al. (2017). Yet, there is still a debate on the quality of the data collected in citizen science monitoring schemes, and especially on the benefits to high-quality research. Here, I present an example of how collection-based research and involvement of the public (non-taxonomists) in taxonomical education, i.e., advanced citizen science, can enhance research on scorpion diversity in Israel. Furthermore, the process of public involvement in monitoring and especially the prerequisites needed for this process, contributed to high-quality research, that in turn is enhancing biodiversity science. Considering this, I will discuss the basic stages required for successful public engagement in high-quality biodiversity research and monitoring schemes.