Abstract
This article calculates estimates of avian longevity for southern African Passeriformes and demonstrates the impact citizen scientists have on data volumes curated by the South African Bird Ringing Unit (SAFRING). We calculated taxon-specific longevity records for 341 species from 33 families using ringing data collected between 1948 and 2017. An increase in active ringer participation over time correlated positively with an increase in retrap and recovery data, allowing for more reliable longevity calculations. These results highlight the significant contribution citizen scientists have made to bird ringing in southern Africa and identify data-deficient taxa to which future ringing activities should be targeted.
Highlights
Measures of longevity are important for estimating a species’ survival and persistence (Wasser & Sherman 2010)
The South African Bird Ringing Unit digitises all reported resightings, recaptures and recoveries of birds ringed with SAFRING rings, as well as foreign rings reported in Africa
Records of southern African Passeriformes were extracted from this database in March 2018, along with the numbers and details of active ringers
Summary
Measures of longevity (i.e. maximum lifespan) are important for estimating a species’ survival and persistence (Wasser & Sherman 2010). Citizen scientists are informed and trained members of the public who devote their own resources to a scientific study while not necessarily having any formal scientific training (Haklay 2013). A well-established field of citizen science is bird ringing, where trained volunteers fit rings or tags onto birds for future identification. This is a reliable method of quantifying survival, senescence, recruitment and dispersal of wild birds (Baillie 2001; Robinson, Julliard & Saracco 2009), and is an effective means of estimating longevity
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