Volunteer Monitoring Research Articles

Wearable Devices and Explainable Unsupervised Learning for COVID-19 Detection and Monitoring.

Despite the declining COVID-19 cases, global healthcare systems still face significant challenges due to ongoing infections, especially among fully vaccinated individuals, including adolescents and young adults (AYA). To tackle this issue, cost-effective alternatives utilizing technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and wearable devices have emerged for disease screening, diagnosis, and monitoring. However, many AI solutions in this context heavily rely on supervised learning techniques, which pose challenges such as human labeling reliability and time-consuming data annotation. In this study, we propose an innovative unsupervised framework that leverages smartwatch data to detect and monitor COVID-19 infections. We utilize longitudinal data, including heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), and physical activity measured via step count, collected through the continuous monitoring of volunteers. Our goal is to offer effective and affordable solutions for COVID-19 detection and monitoring. Our unsupervised framework employs interpretable clusters of normal and abnormal measures, facilitating disease progression detection. Additionally, we enhance result interpretation by leveraging the language model Davinci GPT-3 to gain deeper insights into the underlying data patterns and relationships. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of unsupervised learning, achieving a Silhouette score of 0.55. Furthermore, validation using supervised learning techniques yields high accuracy (0.884 ± 0.005), precision (0.80 ± 0.112), and recall (0.817 ± 0.037). These promising findings indicate the potential of unsupervised techniques for identifying inflammatory markers, contributing to the development of efficient and reliable COVID-19 detection and monitoring methods. Our study shows the capabilities of AI and wearables, reflecting the pursuit of low-cost, accessible solutions for addressing health challenges related to inflammatory diseases, thereby opening new avenues for scalable and widely applicable health monitoring solutions.

Bird predation on Roseau cane scale as revealed by a web image search and querying a citizen monitoring database

AbstractAn invasion of Roseau cane scale, Nipponaclerda biwakoensis, native to East Asia, is associated with recent widespread dieback of common reed stands in the Mississippi River Delta, Louisiana. A previous study suggested that, in its native range, the combined mortality from Common Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus and parasitoid wasps may control the abundance of Roseau cane scale. However, there is limited knowledge about which other bird species may prey on Roseau cane scale or the feeding patterns of these birds. Here we used web search and citizen science monitoring data to tabulate bird predation events on Roseau cane scales across sites in Japan and determine which bird species may be the most important predators and when the observed feeding typically occurs. We scanned web entries using both Google image searches and the social networking services including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Additionally, we accessed long‐term field observation records obtained by volunteer monitoring conducted by the members of the Kanagawa Branch of the Wild Bird Society of Japan. By using these citizen science approaches, we detected 16 bird species, mainly Common Reed Bunting but also other migratory and resident species, preying on the Roseau cane scale in reed beds throughout central Japan and most detection occurred during the winter. This study demonstrates that biological information obtained from publicly available data from citizen observers can be useful for exploring ecological patterns of various species including potential predators against invasive species.

Informing Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program Design and Watershed Planning: Case Study of StreamSmart Data Analysis in the Upper White River Basin, Arkansas

AbstractThe watershed group H2Ozarks founded the StreamSmart Citizen Science Program to establish baseline and long‐term water quality data for the Upper White River Basin, Arkansas. StreamSmart volunteers collect water samples and conduct habitat and macroinvertebrate community assessments at >20 sites across a land use‐land cover (LULC) gradient. Since 2020, H2Ozarks has adaptively assessed the program to ensure that the investment in water quality data meets core goals, with particular interest in planning tools and aligning expectations of volunteer effort with the level of training and support. Study objectives were to use StreamSmart data to 1) facilitate understanding of water quality response to stressors in the basin using a range of methods (Spearman rank correlation, non‐parametric changepoint analysis, and categorical and regression tree analysis) and 2) explore implications for program design and watershed planning. Water chemistry‐LULC relationships were in‐line with prior regional studies, as well as global patterns. Detected thresholds and hierarchy provide potential targets for managing LULC change to protect water quality, but further analysis is warranted to refine these relationships. Macroinvertebrate stressor‐response was most detectable for sensitive and less sensitive taxa and for habitat index components, suggesting potential to streamline these programmatic elements. Study findings for StreamSmart should also be informative for other small‐scale volunteer monitoring programs with limited resources, but which actively evaluate the types of data and program activities that yield a maximum scientific return on investment.

Citizen science and land use data provide insight into the invasive riparian plant composition of the Hudson River Valley watershed

AbstractInvasive plants in the riparian zone can negatively affect the characteristics and quality of a watershed. To support the development of a watershed management plan and foster public appreciation of the value of the riparian zone, Mohonk Preserve established a volunteer monitoring program surveying sites for invasive species. Between 2017 and 2019, citizen scientists repeatedly surveyed 20 sites in the Hudson River Valley in New York for 10 invasive plant species: purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.), common reed [Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud], multiflora rose (Rosa multiflora Thunb.), garlic mustard [Alliaria petiolata (M. Bieb.) Cavara & Grande], dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis L.), Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum Siebold & Zucc.), wineberry (Rubus phoenicolasius Maxim.), barberry (Berberis spp.), Japanese stiltgrass [Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus], and Asiatic bittersweet (oriental bittersweet, Celastrus orbiculatus Thunb.). We found that the number of target species detected was higher on sites closer to paved roads and with increasing drainage area size, while lower with higher percentages of forested land in the basin. Our analysis results highlight variation in the presence of target invasive species across the Hudson River Valley region, highlighting sites and areas to monitor for future introductions and take action to prevent species’ invasions. Our results highlight differences in the most relevant abiotic factors for hydrophytes and non-hydrophyte species, underscoring the importance of considering species’ life-history traits before the development of management plans for invasive plant species in the riparian zone. Our case study of community-collected data in the Hudson River Valley region using a relatively simple monitoring protocol can provide a road map for other regions fostering volunteer engagement with invasive plants.

Sea otters in a California estuary: Detecting temporal and spatial dynamics with volunteer monitoring

AbstractVolunteer monitoring can support conservation of imperiled wildlife, by providing higher resolution data in space and time than those available from professional scientists. However, concerns have been raised that data collected by amateurs are inaccurate or inconsistent and thus do not allow for robust detection of spatial or temporal trends. We evaluated the rigor and value of volunteer monitoring data for one iconic wildlife species, the southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), in Elkhorn Slough estuary in central California, USA, and explored whether volunteer monitoring could provide added value to complement limited professional surveys. First, we compiled and analyzed sea otter counts taken on daily ecotourist boat trips along the estuary, and then compared temporal patterns to data collected by professional scientists tasked with monitoring this federally listed species. Second, we analyzed data on sea otter abundance, habitat use, and behavior collected by a team of trained volunteers, the Elkhorn Slough Reserve Otter Monitoring Program. Overall, we demonstrated the ability to detect important ecological patterns relevant to sea otter conservation and wetland habitat management using volunteer‐derived datasets. Long‐term trends and inter‐annual variability were similar between professional agency monitoring data and volunteer datasets. Moreover, the much higher frequency of volunteer observations allowed for seasonal and tidal dynamics to be detected that could not be revealed by less frequent professional monitoring. We found higher sea otter abundance in the estuary in spring–summer, indicating seasonality in use of the estuary. We detected differences in habitat use of the estuary between higher and lower tides, and greater frequency of foraging at low tide and in certain areas. Volunteer observations revealed fine‐scale differences in habitat use: eelgrass beds were used much more heavily than adjacent areas only a few meters away. Volunteer data can thus provide critical information about coastal habitat use and behavior that can improve conservation strategies for threatened wildlife species.

Technologies of recruitment youth in volunteering in Ukraine

The article reveals the concept of volunteering and the involvement of volunteers. The author highlights the state of volunteering among young people and socio-political conditions to develop the volunteer movement in Ukraine. The research relevance of volunteer involvement was manifested. In order to find effective ways to involve young people in volunteering, the legislative documents and theoretical and practical materials on the topic of involving volunteers in Ukraine were analyzed and compared. The article deduced individual stages of involving young people in volunteering. Among them: setting goals for recruitment; recruitment planning; preparation of a recruitment and communication campaign; implementation of a recruitment and communication campaign; selection of volunteers; monitoring and evaluating recruitment; studying volunteers, adapting to volunteering conditions; joining a volunteer’s community, monitoring, and evaluation of involvement volunteers. Based on the analysis of foreign sources and individual stages of involvement, two technologies for attracting volunteers have been identified: the technology of recruiting volunteers and the technology of volunteer involvement. Relevant diagrams and tables were visualized due to the results of theoretical research. The emphasis of the article is on the technology of recruiting volunteers, which was tested and shown its effectiveness and flexibility in the activities (BUR camps for young volunteers in Ukraine) of the program «Building Ukraine Together» of the charity organization «Ukrainian educational platform» during the 2021. The technology combines social science, digital technologies, and marketing innovations. The main functions of recruitment technology are highlighted and explained. Within the framework of volunteer recruitment technology, the author proposed the algorithm, key stages, methods, and tools. In the article, particular examples and detailed explanations for all points are described

Digital Platform to Continuously Monitor Patients Using a Smartwatch: Preliminary Report.

BackgroundMonitoring vital signs such as oximetry, blood pressure, and heart rate is important to follow the evolution of patients. Smartwatches are a revolution in medicine allowing the collection of such data in a continuous and organic way. However, it is still a challenge to make this information available to health care professionals to make decisions during clinical follow-up.ObjectiveThis study aims to build a digital solution that displays vital sign data from smartwatches, collected remotely, continuously, reliably, and from multiple users, with trigger warnings when abnormal results are identified.MethodsThis is a single-center prospective study following the guidelines “Evaluating digital health products” from the UK Health Security Agency. A digital platform with 3 different applications was created to capture and display data from the mobile phones of volunteers with smartwatches. We selected 80 volunteers who were followed for 24 weeks each, and the synchronization interval between the smartwatch and digital solution was recorded for each vital sign collected.ResultsIn 14 weeks of project progress, we managed to recruit 80 volunteers, with 68 already registered in the digital solution. More than 2.8 million records have already been collected, without system downtime. Less than 5% of continuous heart rate measurements (bpm) were synchronized within 2 hours. However, approximately 70% were synchronized in less than 24 hours, and 90% were synchronized in less than 119 hours.ConclusionsThe digital solution is working properly in its role of displaying data collected from smartwatches. Vital sign values are being monitored by the research team as part of the monitoring of volunteers. Although the digital solution proved unsuitable for monitoring urgent events, it is more than suitable for use in outpatient clinical use. This digital solution, which is based on cloud technology, can be applied in the future for telemonitoring in regions lacking health care professionals. Accuracy and reliability studies still need to be performed at the end of the 24-week follow-up.

A comprehensive health education plus monitoring support program for older adults with knee osteoarthritis coexisting with overweight and type 2 diabetes

ObjectivesTo examine the patient outcomes of a comprehensive health education plus village health volunteer monitoring support program on older adults with knee osteoarthritis who are overweight and have type 2 diabetes. MethodsQuasi-experimental, two-group, pretest-posttest design was applied. Using random geographic cluster sampling, older adults who met the inclusion criteria were assigned to two groups, 62 in the intervention group and 71 in the control group. The intervention group received the comprehensive health education plus village health volunteer monitoring support program. The control group received only the comprehensive health education program. Study outcomes, including blood glucose level, knee pain and range of motion, body weight, physical ability (Timed Up and Go Test), fatigue, depressive symptoms, quality of sleep, and quality of life, were assessed at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months after enrollment and analyzed using descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis of variance. ResultsOne hundred and ten participants completed the study (55 participants in each group). Most patient outcomes in the two groups showed general improvement with statistical significance (P ≤ 0.001): pain decreased, physical ability improved, less depressive symptoms and fatigue, quality of life and sleep improved. The interaction effect (the group and time) demonstrated statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups on pain, knee range of motion, and fatigue according to each time follow-up (P < 0.001). ConclusionsThe comprehensive health education plus village health volunteer monitoring support program promotes good patient outcomes in this population. The integrated health education resource and support for older adults with knee osteoarthritis and type 2 diabetes is an effective, non-surgical treatment that highlights professional nursing roles and non-professional roles—village health volunteers. Nurses should consider implementing a health education plus monitoring support program to mitigate the effects of chronic diseases and improve patients’ quality of life.

The challenges of health volunteers management in COVID19 pandemic in Iran

PurposeThe use of volunteers is one of the approaches to capacity building, preparedness and the response of the health system in disasters. Appropriate management of volunteers during disasters and emergencies is essential. This study aimed to explain the challenges of volunteer management in the Pandemic COVID-19 in Iran.Design/methodology/approachQualitative research was conducted using the content analysis based on the Graneheim method. The participants' selection was done based on purposeful sampling and theoretical sampling until data saturation. Direct field observation and 26 interviews were applied to collect data.FindingsFour categories and 15 sub-categories emerged to describe the challenges of volunteer management during the COVID-19 crisis including policymaking barriers (including legal barriers, insurance and support coverage and risk governance), managerial barriers (including planning, coordinating and organizing, training and awareness, command and leadership and information management and documentation), socio-cultural barriers (personal safety attitude and culture, attitudes and expectations of the community and perspectives on volunteers) and executive-operational barriers (monitoring and evaluation, cost and needs assessment).Originality/valueIt is essential to increase managers', officials' and volunteers' perceptions of COVID19 risk through education and information. Preparing a database for volunteers' information, including non-governmental organization and governmental organization volunteers, planning for needs assessment, establishing a mechanism for recruiting volunteers and using their capacities and appropriate organizing, tracking and monitoring of volunteers can be among effective strategies.

Quantitative Characterization of Age-Related Changes in Peripheral Vessels of a Human Palm Using Raster-Scan Optoacoustic Angiography

The analysis of age-related changes in skin vessels based on optoacoustic angiographic images during the in vivo skin monitoring of healthy volunteers at different ages is reported. As a result of a quantitative analysis of the three-dimensional OA images, the age-associated differences in the following image parameters were revealed: image intensity, ratio of blood content at different characteristics depths, total vessel length, and number of branches. The reported approach can be effectively employed for automatic assessment and monitoring of age-related vascular changes in the skin and underlying tissues.

Early Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Volunteer Water Monitoring Programs in the United States and Canada.

ABSTRACTVolunteer water monitoring programs generate new scientific knowledge, contribute data to decision‐making processes, and increase social networks, technical knowledge, and skills of participants. Declaration of the COVID‐19 pandemic threatened the ability of these programs to continue to engage volunteers to achieve such outcomes. A national water monitoring network hosted a brainstorming webinar to facilitate communication across programs to identify potential solutions to pandemic‐influenced challenges. Following that webinar, a survey of United States and Canadian volunteer monitoring programs that was conducted about 3 months into the pandemic revealed that 72% of 80 responding programs planned to carry on through the 2020 field season despite most having experienced delayed starts. Other common program modifications implemented in the first months of the pandemic included adding COVID‐19 safety information to program guidance, changing field team composition, monitoring timing and logistics, and adopting new communications strategies. Most programs reported loss or anticipated loss in number of data observations (74%) and volunteers (66%), while 44% reported known or anticipated losses in funding. Seventeen percent of responding programs were able to swiftly develop distance learning tools to train participants, which led to increased program capacity to reach broader audiences.

Ethical considerations around volunteer payments in a malaria human infection study in Kenya: an embedded empirical ethics study

Human Infection Studies (HIS) have emerged as an important research approach with the potential to fast track the global development of vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases, including in low resource settings. Given the high level of burdens involved in many HIS, particularly prolonged residency and biological sampling requirements, it can be challenging to identify levels of study payments that provide adequate compensation but avoid ‘undue’ levels of inducement to participate. Through this embedded ethics study, involving 97 healthy volunteers and other research stakeholders in a malaria HIS programme in Kenya, and using in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observations during and after a malaria HIS, we give a grounded account of ethical issues emerging in relation to study payments in this setting. While careful community, national, international scientific and ethics review processes meant that risks of serious harm were highly unlikely, the levels of motivation to join HIS seen could raise concerns about study payments being too high. Particular value was placed on the reliability, rather than level, of study payment in this setting, where subsistence livelihoods are common. Study volunteers were generally clear about the study aims at the point of recruitment, and this knowledge was retained over a year later, although most reported experiencing more burdens than anticipated at enrolment. Strict study screening procedures, regular clinical and laboratory monitoring of volunteers, with prompt treatment with antimalarial at predetermined endpoints suggested that the risks of serious harm were highly unlikely. Ethical concerns emerged in relation to volunteers’ attempts to conceal symptoms, hoping to prolong residency periods and increase study payments; and volunteers making decisions that compromised important family relationships and personal values. Our findings support an interpretation that, although study volunteers were keen to join the study to access cash payments, they also paid attention to other features of the study and the general clinical research landscape, including levels of risk associated with study participation. Overall, our analysis shows that the ethical concerns emerging from the study payments can be addressed through practical measures, hinged on reducing burdens and strengthening communication, raising important issues for research policy and planning.

Identifying and harmonizing the priorities of stakeholders in the Chesapeake Bay environmental monitoring community

Research collaborations between volunteer monitoring groups and environmental scientists and managers are instrumental for understanding and managing complex socioecological systems. In the Chesapeake region, the Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) helps coordinate volunteer monitoring efforts throughout the watershed, and facilitates collaboration between environmental stakeholders. However, stakeholders perceive their environment and their own role in different ways, and these perceptions affect how they prioritize problems and respective solutions. We conducted a survey to explore the extent to which cultural knowledge about environmental monitoring was shared across the CMC community, pinpoint key similarities and differences in how stakeholder groups prioritized various environmental monitoring goals, and understand stakeholders' perspectives of the CMC's resources. We learned that stakeholders drew from a shared system of cultural knowledge surrounding environmental monitoring and prioritized goals related to collecting actionable data and improving environmental conditions. There were also compelling differences in how stakeholder groups prioritized increasing knowledge and building a sense of community. Furthermore, stakeholders especially valued CMC resources associated with increasing the quality, quantity, and accessibility of volunteer-collected data. Based on our results, we developed recommendations to inform the design and coordination of other collaborative environmental monitoring programs. We argue that cultural consensus can provide a foundation for collaboration, and stakeholders' highest-priority monitoring goals can inform organizational priorities and strategic outreach. Furthermore, efforts to build social capital and understand stakeholders' changing priorities over time will be important for ensuring the continued success of the research partnership.

Co-creating and evaluating a citizen science program for monitoring submerged aquatic vegetation in Chesapeake Bay

Research on submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) directly informs policy and management decisions in Chesapeake Bay; however, limitations to data collection capabilities of professional scientists have left knowledge gaps that hinder scientific research and management efforts. Experts have called upon volunteers to help collect the local-scale data that are necessary for understanding SAV growth and species distribution within one of the world’s largest estuaries. We collaborated with various environmental stakeholders, including SAV experts, volunteer monitoring coordinators, and citizen scientists, to design a multi-tiered monitoring protocol and training program for citizen scientists monitoring SAV in Chesapeake Bay. We employed a sequence of research approaches, which included online surveys, literature review, a pilot study, participant observation with volunteers in the field, and a protocol-testing workshop. From these approaches, we were able to better understand the stakeholders’ various needs and requirements for the Chesapeake Bay SAV Watchers program. Evaluative interviews helped us collect feedback on the process of developing the program, as well as on the program itself. We learned that the collaborative process of co-creating the monitoring program led to positive outcomes for the stakeholders involved, as well as for the perceived scientific rigor of the program. Furthermore, our use of science communication and user-centered design increased the program’s functionality and credibility. Finally, our interview results suggested that continuing to incorporate participants’ motivations into the program’s management will improve volunteer retention and therefore increase the program’s impact and longevity. This research will inform the creation of other collaboratively-developed participatory research programs, as well as citizen science programs that simultaneously prioritize engagement, education, and collection of high-quality data.

Analyzing long-term water quality of lakes in Rhode Island and the northeastern United States with an anomaly approach.

Addressing anthropogenic impacts on aquatic ecosystems is a focus of lake management. Controlling phosphorus and nitrogen can mitigate these impacts, but determining management effectiveness requires long-term datasets. Recent analysis of the LAke multi-scaled GeOSpatial and temporal database for the Northeast (LAGOS-NE) United States found stable water quality in the northeastern and midwestern United States; however, sub-regional trends may be obscured. We used the University of Rhode Island’s Watershed Watch Volunteer Monitoring Program (URIWW) dataset to determine if there were sub-regional (i.e., 3000 km2) water quality trends. URIWW has collected water quality data on Rhode Island lakes and reservoirs for over 25 yr. The LAGOS-NE and URIWW datasets allowed for comparison of water quality trends at regional and sub-regional scales, respectively. We assessed regional (LAGOS-NE) and sub-regional (URIWW) trends with yearly median anomalies calculated on a per-station basis. Sub-regionally, temperature and chlorophyll a increased from 1993 to 2016. Total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and the nitrogen:phosphorus ratio (N:P) were stable. At the regional scale, the LAGOS-NE dataset showed similar trends to prior studies of the LAGOS-NE with chlorophyll a, total nitrogen, and N:P all stable over time. Total phosphorus did show a very slight increase. In short, algal biomass, as measured by chlorophyll a in Rhode Island lakes and reservoirs increased, despite stability in total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio. Additionally, we demonstrated both the value of long-term monitoring programs, like URIWW, for identifying trends in environmental condition, and the utility of site-specific anomalies for analyzing for long-term water quality trends.

Assessing the Accuracy of Nitrate Concentration Data for Water Quality Monitoring Using Visual and Cell Phone Quantification Methods

In this methodological project we tested the accuracy of two systems used to quantify results obtained using the Hach© nitrate strip for water quality volunteer monitoring programs. The test strip determines nitrate concentration in accordance with the Lambert-Beer law as increased nitrate concentrations result in greater color intensity on the strip’s sampling pad. In this study, first-time volunteers estimated nitrate concentrations with the test strip, either visually or using the Deltares Nitrate App, a smartphone application that uses the phone’s camera as a spectrometer. Results from two different series of tests indicate that volunteers using visual methods produce the more accurate results. Although cell phone apps might have the potential to increase data quality for colorimetric assays such as the one employed by the Hach© nitrate test strip, the current technology was not an improvement relative to visual interpolation.

Volunteer-collected water quality data can be used for science and management

Hoyer, MV, Canfield, DE Jr. 2021. Volunteer-collected water quality data can be used for science and management. Lake Reserv Manage. 37:235–245. This study addresses concerns that comparison studies between professional and volunteer-collected data have been of limited scope, conducted under experimental conditions, and that results may not be applicable to existing large-scale, long-term volunteer monitoring datasets. Historical (2008 to 2019) phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll, and Secchi data collected by 5 Florida organizations charged with monitoring water quality were compared with Florida LAKEWATCH volunteer-collected data from 216 lakes. The state organizations had National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Conference (NELAC)-certified laboratories and LAKEWATCH used modified procedures needed to accommodate a volunteer program. The lakes are located in central Florida, range in trophic status from oligotrophic to hypereutrophic, and provided approximately 650 independent overlapping annual geometric mean pairs for comparison. Paired t-tests comparing logarithmic transformed annual geometric mean data pooled from all professional organizations with similar overlapping volunteer-collected data showed significant (P < 0.05) differences for phosphorus, nitrogen, and Secchi depth but not for chlorophyll. The significant differences when reported arithmetically were only 1.1 µg/L, −1.1 µg/L, and 0.1 m, respectively. Regression analyses on the same data showed strong significant (P < 0.05) relations with coefficient of determinations (R2 ) of 0.91, 0.98, 0.79, and 0.78 for phosphorus, nitrogen, chlorophyll, and Secchi depth, respectively. Slopes for each paired regression were not significantly different from 1. These results demonstrate that volunteer-collected data were equivalent to data collected professionally, that the quality of volunteer data can be similar to that produced by NELAC-certified laboratories, and thus that data are adequate for both research and management.

Citizen Scientists Showed a Four-Fold Increase of Lynx Numbers in Lithuania

By the early 2000s, Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) were nearly extirpated in Lithuania. To determine their status, we used snow-track counts in 2006–2012 and volunteer monitoring in 1999–2005 and 2015–2018. Using simple questionnaires, we collected incidental observations from hunters, foresters, and other interested citizens to estimate lynx distribution, abundance and extent of breeding. Citizen scientists provided 206 reports of 278 individual lynx that suggested expanding lynx distributions in central, western, southwestern, and southern parts of Lithuania. A decrease in range fragmentation has also been observed since 2015. Nationwide, the lynx population quadrupled from 2010 to 162 individuals in 2018. The number of breeding individuals reported was just seven in both 2007 and 2008, limited to two forests in the very north and central part of the country. This increased to 46 in 2015–2018. Our results indicate that the lynx population in Lithuania has increased and its conservation status should be reconsidered.

Towards Global Volunteer Monitoring of Odonate Abundance

AbstractInsects are reportedly experiencing widespread declines, but we generally have sparse data on their abundance. Correcting this shortfall will take more effort than professional entomologists alone can manage. Volunteer nature enthusiasts can greatly help to monitor the abundance of dragonflies and damselflies (Odonata), iconic freshwater sentinels and one of the few nonpollinator insect groups appreciated by the public and amenable to citizen science. Although counting individual odonates is common in some locations, current data will not enable a global perspective on odonate abundance patterns and trends. Borrowing insight from butterfly monitoring efforts, we outline basic plans for a global volunteer network to count odonates, including organizational structure, advertising and recruiting, and data collection, submission, and synthesis. We hope our proposal serves as a catalyst for richer coordinated efforts to understand population trends of odonates and other insects in the Anthropocene.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Citizen Science to Complement Traditional Data Gathering Approaches for Medically Important Hard Ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the United States.

Tick-borne diseases are increasing in North America. Knowledge of which tick species and associated human pathogens are present locally can inform the public and medical community about the acarological risk for tick bites and tick-borne infections. Citizen science (also called community-based monitoring, volunteer monitoring, or participatory science) is emerging as a potential approach to complement traditional tick record data gathering where all aspects of the work is done by researchers or public health professionals. One key question is how citizen science can best be used to generate high-quality data to fill knowledge gaps that are difficult to address using traditional data gathering approaches. Citizen science is particularly useful to generate information on human-tick encounters and may also contribute to geographical tick records to help define species distributions across large areas. Previous citizen science projects have utilized three distinct tick record data gathering methods including submission of: 1) physical tick specimens for identification by professional entomologists, 2) digital images of ticks for identification by professional entomologists, and 3) data where the tick species and life stage were identified by the citizen scientist. We explore the benefits and drawbacks of citizen science, relative to the traditional scientific approach, to generate data on tick records, with special emphasis on data quality for species identification and tick encounter locations. We recognize the value of citizen science to tick research but caution that the generated information must be interpreted cautiously with data quality limitations firmly in mind to avoid misleading conclusions.