Citizen Science Research Articles

Validating The Philippine Mangrove Map 2023 through Capacity Building and Crowdsourcing

Abstract. Mangroves are crucial coastal ecosystems. They provide numerous ecological and socio-economic benefits – shoreline protection, carbon sequestration, food security, and biodiversity conservation. The Philippine Mangrove Map 2023, generated through Machine Learning, improves understanding, accounting, and conserving these vital habitats. However, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of maps is imperative for informed decision-making and effective conservation efforts. Various validation methods were reviewed to develop a nationwide approach integrating practicality and statistical rigor, incorporating multiple data sources such as satellite and airborne imagery and GPS points from the government, civil society, and citizens. Capacity building enabled large-scale citizen science collaboration to gather quality datasets and foster reciprocal learning between scientists and local citizens. This collaborative effort aims to improve the quality of datasets and ultimately enhance the accuracy of the Philippine Mangrove Map 2023 and succeeding mangrove extents maps.

Citizen Science and Artificial Intelligence in Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe Projects: Communication and Scientific Impact

The Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe framework programs are the key funding programs for the European Union's policy on innovation, research, and development (R&D&I) in all scientific subject areas. These instruments promote open science by using citizen science as a collaborative methodology and artificial intelligence as a disruptive technology, thereby encouraging public participation and engagement in scientific research. This paradigm shift in the scientific landscape is the impetus for this descriptive and exploratory study analyzing the effectiveness of communication policies and the quality of the dissemination and scientific impact of 28 R&D&I projects developed using citizen science and artificial intelligence, which were selected from the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS) repository. This case study employs a methodological procedure grounded in content analysis and bibliometric indicators to meet four specific objectives: to determine the main formats and channels used in the projects’ communication strategies, as well as which category the projects’ papers fall into; to analyze the effectiveness of the projects’ scientific dissemination using articles published in Scopus according to subject area; to analyze the quality of scientific impact of the 234 articles that the projects produced using the SCImago Journal Rank (SJR) indicator; and to evaluate their specific and comparative impact using the standardized indicators Field-weighted citation impact (FWCI) and CiteScore. The findings confirmed that there were substantial differences in terms of the effectiveness of communication and the quality of dissemination and scientific impact among the projects analyzed. In this context, communication science could help efficiently navigate the challenges and opportunities in scientific communication.

Occurrence of juvenile porbeagle sharks (Lamna nasus) in the northern coast of Spain.

Opportunistic records can provide valuable information on certain species, including the critically endangered porbeagle shark (Lamna nasus). This note documents the occurrence of three juveniles, with approximate 120-, 88-, and 85-cm fork lengths respectively, observed along the coast of Asturias, Spain, in 2024. Given the three distinct scenarios in which these records respectively occurred (incidental capture, washed ashore and stranding), they emphasize the role of citizen science in identifying potential threats to this species, particularly in early stages of life, in a region that may be important and previously overlooked.

Future Low-Cost Urban Air Quality Monitoring Networks: Insights from the EU’s AirHeritage Project

The last decade has seen a significant growth in the adoption of low-cost air quality monitoring systems (LCAQMSs), mostly driven by the need to overcome the spatial density limitations of traditional regulatory grade networks. However, urban air quality monitoring scenarios have proved extremely challenging for their operative deployment. In fact, these scenarios need pervasive, accurate, personalized monitoring solutions along with powerful data management technologies and targeted communications tools; otherwise, these scenarios can lead to a lack of stakeholder trust, awareness, and, consequently, environmental inequalities. The AirHeritage project, funded by the EU’s Urban Innovative Action (UIA) program, addressed these issues by integrating intelligent LCAQMSs with conventional monitoring systems and engaging the local community in multi-year measurement strategies. Its implementation allowed us to explore the benefits and limitations of citizen science approaches, the logistic and functional impacts of IoT infrastructures and calibration methodologies, and the integration of AI and geostatistical sensor fusion algorithms for mobile and opportunistic air quality measurements and reporting. Similar research or operative projects have been implemented in the recent past, often focusing on a limited set of the involved challenges. Unfortunately, detailed reports as well as recorded and/or cured data are often not publicly available, thus limiting the development of the field. This work openly reports on the lessons learned and experiences from the AirHeritage project, including device accuracy variance, field recording assessments, and high-resolution mapping outcomes, aiming to guide future implementations in similar contexts and support repeatability as well as further research by delivering an open datalake. By sharing these insights along with the gathered datalake, we aim to inform stakeholders, including researchers, citizens, public authorities, and agencies, about effective strategies for deploying and utilizing LCAQMSs to enhance air quality monitoring and public awareness on this challenging urban environment issue.

Long-term monitoring of citizen science: driving factors and pandemic impacts

ABSTRACT In recent years, the importance of citizen science in biodiversity monitoring has become increasingly evident. Citizen science provides valuable data to understand the dynamic changes in biodiversity across different cities. Although long-term monitoring is crucial for understanding these dynamic changes, previous research has primarily focused on short-term data analysis. Therefore, this study analysed data from the iNaturalist platform for 11 Japanese cities from 2016 to 2023, focusing on the driving factors of observation changes and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic using the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) method. The results revealed that the population (total number of active users) metric had the greatest impact, followed by intensity (the number of observations per active day), frequency (active days per active user), and structure (proportion of regular users). To ensure data continuity and reliability, optimizing user structure by increasing the proportion of regular users is essential. Although observation volumes fluctuated during the pandemic, they rebounded significantly post-pandemic, demonstrating the resilience, and adaptability of citizen science projects. The iNaturalist platform provides a stable foundation for long-term data collection, aiding in the comprehensive understanding of biodiversity dynamics. Our study also highlighted differences in citizen science participation and biodiversity monitoring across cities, indicating the need for tailored biodiversity conservation policies. To effectively address similar crises in the future, developing contingency plans is recommended to provide continuous support for biodiversity conservation and public engagement in environmental management.

Fostering language awareness through Citizen Science: results and implications of a project with Polish teenagers doing language-related research

This article reports on the rationale, implementation, results and evaluation of four rounds of co-creative Citizen Science (CS) projects (2021–2024) conducted with 10 public secondary schools in Opole, Poland. These educational interventions consisted in facilitating 18 team research projects designed and executed by 55 teenagers (15–17-year-olds) on topics related to communication, linguistic diversity, multiculturalism and language learning. The article shows how such interventions are conducive to pupils’ increased language awareness, their reflectivity about the scientific methods in linguistics, and an inclination towards future citizen engagement regarding literacy-­related issues. The article also focuses on the potential of CS for allowing pupils themselves to enhance their language awareness and socio-linguistic competences while producing experiential and situated knowledge that is relevant to their communities. The project evaluation that was undertaken subsequently traces which learning outcomes are likely to be achieved during co-creative CS and recommends some adaptable tools for monitoring the increase in language awareness in secondary language education, also beyond the Polish context.

Partnering with Communities to Understand Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) Impacts on Access to Shared Micromobility.

This study explored the facilitators and barriers of community bike share use in a mid-sized city with high incidence of poverty and racial diversity using a community-based participatory action research (CBPAR) photovoice framework with the Stanford Our Voice (OV) Discovery Tool digital application. Community members participated in one of three community citizen science walks with follow up focus groups facilitated by osteopathic medical student researcher to address "What makes it easy or hard to ride a bike using the bike share?" Twenty-seven diverse community members partnered with four osteopathic medical students exploring vulnerable individuals' lived experiences, beliefs/understanding of the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and access to the bike share program. A total of 322 photos and narrative comments from citizen science walk audits developed deductive themes and follow up focus groups informed inductive themes. Themes addressed challenges to access, maintenance, safety in bike transit, comfort, and environment that create barriers to use and increase inequities for lower income and historically underrepresented communities. The use of OV provided photograph, narrative, and geocoded photo location. This novel approach served as an effective tool for community action with city decision makers. The narrative research identified the impact of the barriers, and the photographs and geocoding provided clear descriptions for locations to prioritize change by adding street signs for access and safety, fixing road safety issues or bike maintenance concerns. It actively engaged the community with the city to drive discussions and plans for change in repair systems and infrastructure that also addressed equity and acknowledged the SDoH supporting residents in lower income or historically underrepresented communities. Citizen science engaged community voices, supporting change in city policies and transportation initiatives to support the sustainability of the bike share program.

Utilidad de los portales en línea de ciencia ciudadana para estudios florísticos: Orquídeas de Santa María Yucuhiti, Oaxaca, México

Background: The beauty of orchids attracts the interest of users of citizen science portals, turning them into additional sources of information for the study of biodiversity. Currently, iNaturalist records observations of almost 70 % of Mexican orchid species. Here, we evaluate the usefulness of the platform to create a local floristic list of this group of plants. Question: Does the information available on iNaturalist allow for the creation of a local orchid checklist as a conventional floristic study does? Study site and dates: Observations recorded between 2007 and 2024 in Santa María Yucuhiti, Oaxaca, Mexico. Methods: Orchid observations in iNaturalist were reviewed and curated, assigning vegetation type and site elevation for each record. The resulting floristic checklist was commented and compared, using a richness index, with those of other regions of Oaxaca, that were prepared through conventional floristic studies. Results: The study area holds 107 species of orchids, 50 % are endemic to Mexico. The highest richness is found between 1,500-1,999 m elevation and in the oak forest. Acianthera hintonii, Habenaria tetranema and Prosthechea mulasii represent new records for Oaxaca. The study area showed the highest orchid richness index compared to other regions of Oaxaca. Conclusions: Information from iNaturalist allowed the preparation of the orchid checklist for Santa María Yucuhiti, supported by the validated observations on the platform. This, along with the availability of high-resolution photographs, the temporal continuity in documentation, and the exploration of sites with restricted access, enhances the quality of the checklist.

Invasion Risk of Established and Horizon Non-Native Ants in the Mediterranean: A Screening for Italy.

Over five hundred non-native ant species have spread worldwide, including many that have severe effects on biodiversity, are serious economic pests, or threaten human health and agriculture. The number of species in the Mediterranean is steadily increasing, with Italy being a prominent example. We provide risk screenings for non-native ant species in Italy using a Terrestrial Species Invasiveness Screening Kit using current climate conditions and future predictions. The screened species consist of 15 established and 12 horizon taxa. The results highlight the threat posed by Linepithema humile and Solenopsis invicta, followed by Wasmannia auropunctata, Brachyponera chinensis, and Solenopsis geminata. The threat posed by other tropical invaders such as Anoplolepis gracilipes and Pheidole megacephala depends on climate change scenarios. The Palearctic non-native Lasius neglectus and Tetramorium immigrans species are recognized as intermediate threats, while most screened species are far less threatening. The biology and ecology of most non-native ant species remain scarcely documented. Among the established species, B. chinensis, L. humile, and S. invicta deserve the most attention, while W. auropunctata is rapidly spreading in neighboring countries. Detection is still often accidental and late compared to establishment. Most species first establish around urban areas, making citizen science a promising tool for biosurveillance.

Reimagining Meaningful Data Work through Citizen Science

Data work is often completed by crowdworkers, who are routinely dehumanized, disempowered, and sidelined. We turn to citizen science to reimagine data work, highlighting collaborative relationships between citizen science project managers and volunteers. Though citizen science and traditional crowd work entail similar forms of data work, such as classifying or transcribing large data sets, citizen science relies on volunteer contributions rather than paid data work. We detail the work citizen science project managers did to shape volunteer experiences: aligning science goals, minimizing barriers to participation, engaging communities, communicating with volunteers, providing training and education, rewarding contributions, and reflecting on volunteer work. These management strategies created opportunities for meaningful work by cultivating intrinsic motivation and fostering collaborative work relationships but ultimately limited participation to specific data-related tasks. We recommend management tactics and task design strategies for creating meaningful work for "invisible collar" workers, an understudied class of labor in CSCW.

CIÊNCIA CIDADÃ E O ENSINO DE CIÊNCIAS: REFLEXÕES PARA BOAS PRÁTICAS A PARTIR DE UM CURSO DE FORMAÇÃO.

Scientific Literacy (SL) aims to develop students' and teachers' knowledge of Science and Technology for civic education. In this sense, numerous teaching approaches have emerged seeking to promote SL aspects in the classroom. Citizen Science (CS) is an emerging approach involving the school community in research problems, allowing students to engage in scientific practices through experimental protocols. Thus, this study aimed to identify and analyze, using Social Representations Theory (SRT), the representations of a group of teachers from the Paraná State public school system participating in a CS training course, focusing on their role in CS practices and reflecting on training for good CS practices. We used a questionnaire with the Free Word Association Technique (FWAT) to identify SR, inducing terms related to 3 axes: Scientific Knowledge, Citizen Science, and Science Teaching through Protocols. The group's evocations were analyzed using Bardin's content analysis, and organized into categories and subcategories. In the Scientific Knowledge axis, there is a predominance of generalist representations; for the Citizen Science axis, representations focus on participation, but more general notions still prevail; and in the Science Teaching through the Citizen Science axis, teachers present representations of a technical and pragmatic protocol. Therefore, we understand that for more meaningful training, it is necessary to involve teachers in building practices, allowing greater participation and engagement in CC concepts.

Measuring characteristics of wild and cultivated food environments: a scoping review

BackgroundGlobal food systems are essential to sustain life; however, unhealthy diets are the leading cause of poor health and death worldwide. Natural food environments are a critical source of healthful food such as fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat and aquatic foods, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and Indigenous food systems. Understanding and monitoring natural food environments is critical to protecting the supply of healthy food, and the land and water it comes from, for current and future generations.MethodsA scoping review was applied to classify and summarise empirical methods and measures used for characterising natural food environments. The ways in which food environment characteristics are conceptualised and measured for natural (wild and cultivated) food environments were explored. Data were extracted from the included studies using the following fields: study country, aim/objective(s), type of natural food environment (wild vs. cultivated), method or measure used to measure the food environment, key food environment characteristic/s (up to four) measured and key findings in relation to the food environment measurement.ResultsOne hundred forty seven studies were found to be relevant in this review. Most studies investigated food environments in LMICs, with almost two-thirds of all studies focussing on middle-income countries (n = 89, 61%). There was a strong focus on food security and home-based agriculture from studies that measured the cultivated food environment in LMICs, while the majority of studies on the cultivated food environment from high-income countries focussed on urban and community gardening. In addition to the most common survey-based methodological approaches, our review yielded a broad range of both qualitative and quantitative methods for measuring natural food environments, such as geospatial analysis; biochemical analysis of food, soil and water; citizen science; photovoice and food availability calendars.ConclusionsOur review demonstrated that the concept and characteristics of the food environment are a promising conceptualization for measuring natural food environments, particularly in relation to food availability, healthiness and food security. Mapping the currently used methods and measures to assess natural food environments is important to help identify critical leverage points for strengthening policy interventions, and monitoring and evaluation of progress.

Danish hunting in the light of unique citizen science bag statistics spanning 80 years

Danish hunting in the light of unique citizen science bag statistics spanning 80 years

Examining exposure diversity on Google News in Australia

This article presents results from a sub-project established under thebanner of the ADM+S Australian Search Experience ‘citizen science’research project. The aim was to characterise news recommendationspresented to Australians through Google News. The project investigatedthe search results for 20 keywords related to Australian politics and globalissues, including names of politicians, political parties, global sportingevents and various COVID-related terms. Keywords were organised intotwo keyword sets: ‘Australian Politics’ and ‘Global Issues’. Theresearchers found that Google News search results were not personalisedwith respect to demographics or geography. A small subset of domainsdominated the first page of results. While several major Australian newsdomains were regularly observed for the ‘Australian Politics’ keyword set,the ‘Global Issues’ category featured more news domains from the UnitedStates and the United Kingdom. These findings help to better understandhow search engines present news content to ordinary internet users.

Using iNaturalist presence data to produce suitability maps for Triatoma protracta, T. rubida and T. recurva in the American Southwest, Texas and northern Mexico, to identify potential transmission zones of Chagas disease.

There are 11 species of triatomines in the USA, with seven reported in the American Southwest. These species are capable of transmitting Trypanosoma cruzi, the etiological agent of Chagas disease, but are generally sylvatic and rarely infect humans in the USA. iNaturalist is one of the most popular citizen science data portals, where users record encounters with any individual organism. As of November 2023, iNaturalist reported 722 confirmed triatomine observations in the American Southwest. Maximum entropy ecological niche modelling and bioclimatic environmental variables were used to predict zones of highest human-triatomine interaction. Models fit well for Triatoma protracta (0.85), T. rubida (0.94), and T. recurva (0.96). Precipitation in the warmest quarter was most predictive of T. protracta presence, while precipitation in the driest quarter was most predictive of T. rubida and T. recurva. Locations identified in the American Southwest with highest potential for human-triatomine interaction, and potential T. cruzi transmission, were coastal California, the Sierra Nevada foothills, southern Arizona and border areas of northern Mexico. Study findings can be used for targeted surveillance efforts to address the paucity of contemporary information regarding triatomine species diversity and geographical and ecological associations in the American Southwest.

Engaging citizens in experiments with computational analysis of patient stories: From unwarranted reductions to meaningful insights

In recent years, citizen engagement in policy and research has gained considerable momentum. In the healthcare domain, patient narratives, through various mediums, have emerged as a valuable source of insight into the experiences of patients and the healthcare system. Recognizing the value of such textual data, diverse analytical methods have been developed, spanning from text mining to narrative analysis. This article presents experiments that combine computational methods, qualitative methods and citizen science for analyzing patients’ stories. In this article, we reflect on two experiments in which we combined these approaches, which we analyze through a generative lens. We distinguish three main effects of the experiments: they provide a platform for discussions as a 'site of controversy'; they act as 'mediator', fostering new connections and mutual understanding among participants; and they serve as 'tin opener', stimulating substantive discussions about methodological development and substantive healthcare matters. Narrative reduction, which occurs when rich narrative data is simplified into structured quantifiable forms, is not inherently problematic; instead, it can be meaningful when combined with qualitative methods and citizen science, emphasizing the importance of utilizing diverse methods to balance authenticity and gaining broader insights. The study highlights the significance of collaborative sense-making and meaning-making in interdisciplinary research. Engaging patients, their relatives, and professionals in the analytical process, facilitated by tools like word clouds, promotes engaged discussions that yield actionable insights. Further development of such interdisciplinary approaches holds promise for a more nuanced understanding of patient experiences, fostering epistemological pluralism, and refining healthcare practices.

Bibliometric analysis of citizen science in global healthcare: Current trends, challenges, and future directions

With the development of information technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, the application scenarios of citizen science worldwide are no longer limited to natural science research. A large number of application cases have emerged in the field of medical health, which suggests that the development of citizen science may bring new impetus to medical health. This study employs CiteSpace for a bibliometric analysis to evaluate the current status, objectives, and methodologies of citizen science in global healthcare. An analysis of 248 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection reveals that citizen science is predominantly implemented in high-income countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands, with significant applications in public health, chronic disease management, infectious disease surveillance, and digital health. The COVID-19 pandemic has further catalyzed the integration of citizen science into health surveillance and public health responses. Conversely, in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the development and implementation of citizen science remain nascent, primarily concentrated in traditional domains such as environmental science, ecology, and biodiversity conservation, with limited penetration into the healthcare sector. Several structural barriers, including inadequate technological infrastructure, insufficient policy support, limited public engagement, and constrained resource allocation, have impeded the broader adoption of citizen science in these regions. To mitigate these challenges, this study proposes targeted strategies, these interventions are anticipated to facilitate the expansion of citizen sciences role in global health governance, ultimately contributing to improved public health outcomes and social welfare.

Citizen science enhances understanding of sea turtle distribution in the Gulf of California.

Citizen science is a valuable tool for addressing spatial distribution gaps in endangered species, especially in data-limited regions. Given the logistical and financial challenges of studying migratory species, this cost-effective approach contributes to strategic conservation planning. The Bay of La Paz, located in Baja California Sur, México, is considered an ecologically important region within the larger Gulf of California. Due to its rich biodiversity and abundant natural resources, the region serves as a hub for ecotourism and fishing, affording diverse opportunities for community-based scientific initiatives. This paper examines the value of citizen science contributions from three diverse community groups (i.e., coastal residents, SCUBA divers, and artisanal fishers) to help scientists obtain information on sea turtle distribution in the Bay of La Paz. Our findings represent the first records of loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the bay based on ten citizen science reports that include live and dead turtles (either observed swimming, as bycatch, or stranded), providing new information on an endangered pelagic species identified in a coastal bay. Although the sample size is small, our diversity of sources and sighting types highlight the value of collaborative citizen science initiatives in complementing traditional research methods.

High-quality herbarium-label transcription by citizen scientists improves taxonomic and spatial representation of the tropical plant family Annonaceae

High-quality herbarium-label transcription by citizen scientists improves taxonomic and spatial representation of the tropical plant family Annonaceae

Ophidiofauna of Maharashtra: An annotated checklist with new locality records

We present a checklist compiled from resources including peer-reviewed literature, citizen science portals,and internet site records of the ophidiofauna of Maharashtra, India. We documented 80 species (and two valid subspecies)in 38 genera, four species of which are new locality records for the state.