Abstract
The purpose of this investigation was to systematically examine the variability associated with temporally-oriented invertebrate data collected by citizen scientists and consider the value of such data for use in stream management. Variability in invertebrate data was estimated for three sources of variation: sampling, within-reach spatial and long-term temporal. Long-term temporal data were also evaluated using ordinations and an Index of Biotic Integrity (IBI). Through two separate investigations over an 11-year study period, participants collected more than 400 within-reach samples during 44 sampling events at three streams in the western United States. Within-reach invertebrate abundance coefficient of variation (CV) ranged from 0.44–0.50 with approximately 62% of the observed variation strictly due to sampling. Long-term temporal CV ranged from 0.31–0.36 with 27–30% of the observed variation in invertebrate abundance related to climate conditions (El Niño strength) and sampling year. Ordinations showed that citizen-generated assemblage data could reliably detect differences between study streams and seasons. IBI scores were significantly different between streams but not seasons. The findings of this study suggest that citizen data would likely detect a change in mean invertebrate density greater than 50% and would also be useful for monitoring changes in assemblage. The information presented here will help stream managers interpret and evaluate changes to the stream invertebrate community detected by citizen-based programs.
Highlights
Public interest in environmental issues provides an opportunity to engage citizens in collecting data for natural resource management [1,2,3,4,5,6]
Stream invertebrates are known to be reliable indicators of stream habitat integrity [11, 12] and are commonly used in stream management [13, 14]; many citizen-based programs are focused on collecting invertebrates as an approach to stream monitoring as well as a strategy for enhancing science education and promoting environmental stewardship
This study was accomplished through two investigations that were conducted at three streams in western Oregon, United States (Fig 2)
Summary
Public interest in environmental issues provides an opportunity to engage citizens in collecting data for natural resource management [1,2,3,4,5,6] This is true of natural surface water systems, where a growing number of governmental and private organizations encourage and support the use of citizen-based data to monitor streams and watershed health [7]. Many of these organizations use stream macroinvertebrate (invertebrate) bioassessment as a tool for stream monitoring and evaluation [7,8,9,10]. Stream invertebrates are known to be reliable indicators of stream habitat integrity [11, 12] and are commonly used in stream management [13, 14]; many citizen-based programs are focused on collecting invertebrates as an approach to stream monitoring as well as a strategy for enhancing science education and promoting environmental stewardship.
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