scholarly journals Nurdle Patrol: Citizen science data on abundance and distribution of plastic pellets in the environment across the United States

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jace Tunnell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Abundance And Distribution ◽  
Plastic Pellets

scholarly journals Eclipse across America: Citizen Science Observations of the 21 August 2017 Total Solar Eclipse

2019 ◽  
Vol 58 (11) ◽  
pp. 2363-2385 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Brant Dodson ◽  
Marilé Colón Robles ◽  
Jessica E. Taylor ◽  
Cayley C. DeFontes ◽  
Kristen L. Weaver
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Solar Eclipse ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Solar Eclipse ◽  
Global Learning ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
Temperature Depression ◽  
Meteorological Effects

AbstractOn 21 August 2017, North America witnessed a total solar eclipse, with the path of totality passing across the United States from coast to coast. The major public interest in the event inspired the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Observer to organize a citizen science observing campaign to record the meteorological effects of the eclipse. Participants at 17 585 observing sites collected 68 620 temperature observations and 15 978 cloud observations. With 7194 sites positioned in the path of totality, participants provide a nearly unbroken record of the cloud and temperature effects of the eclipse across the contiguous United States. The collection of both temperature and cloud observations provides an opportunity to quantify the cloud–temperature relationship. The unique character of citizen science, which provides data from a large number of observations with limited quality control, requires a method that leverages the large number of observations. By grouping observing sites along the path of totality by 1° longitude bins, the errors from individual sites are averaged out and the meteorological effects of the eclipse can be determined robustly. The data reveal a distinct relationship between prevailing cloud cover and the eclipse-induced temperature depression, in which overcast conditions reduces the temperature depression by about one-half of the value from clear conditions. A comparison of the GLOBE results with mesonet data allows a test of the robustness of the citizen science results. The results also show the great benefit that research using citizen science data receives from increased numbers of participants and observations.

scholarly journals Analyzing academic mobility of U.S. professors based on ORCID data and the Carnegie Classification

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 1451-1467
Author(s):  
Erija Yan ◽  
Yongjun Zhu ◽  
Jiangen He
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Open Science ◽  
Geographic Region ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Academic Mobility ◽  
Carnegie Classification ◽  
Research Intensity ◽  
Rural Institutions ◽  
Urban Institutions

This paper uses two open science data sources—ORCID and the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (CCIHE)—to identify tenure-track and tenured professors in the United States who have changed academic affiliations. Through a series of data cleaning and processing actions, 5,938 professors met the selection criteria of professorship and mobility. Using ORCID professor profiles and the Carnegie Classification, this paper reveals patterns of academic mobility in the United States from the aspects of institution types, locations, regions, funding mechanisms of institutions, and professors’ genders. We find that professors tended to move to institutions with higher research intensity, such as those with an R1 or R2 designation in the Carnegie Classification. They also tend to move from rural institutions to urban institutions. Additionally, this paper finds that female professors are more likely to move within the same geographic region than male professors and that when they move from a less research-intensive institution to a more research-intensive one, female professors are less likely to retain their rank or attain promotion.

scholarly journals A citizen science approach to evaluating US cities for biotic homogenization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Leong ◽  
Michelle D Trautwein
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Biodiversity ◽  
Biotic Homogenization ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Metropolitan Cities ◽  
Urban Intensification ◽  
The City ◽  
Us Cities

Cities around the world have converged on structural and environmental characteristics that exert similar eco-evolutionary pressures on local communities. However, evaluating how urban biodiversity responds to urban intensification remains poorly understood because of the challenges in capturing the diversity of a range of taxa within and across multiple cities from different types of urbanization. Here we utilize a growing resource—citizen science data. We analyzed 66,209 observations representing 5,209 species generated by the City Nature Challenge project on the iNaturalist platform, in conjunction with remote sensing (NLCD2011) environmental data, to test for urban biotic homogenization at increasing levels of urban intensity across 14 metropolitan cities in the United States. Based on community composition analyses, we found that while similarities occur to an extent, urban biodiversity is often much more a reflection of the taxa living locally in a region. At the same time, the communities found in high intensity development were less explained by regional context than communities from other land cover types were. We also found that the most commonly observed species are often shared between cities and are non-endemic and/or have a distribution facilitated by humans. This study highlights the value of citizen science data in answering questions in urban ecology.

scholarly journals Citizen Science and Libraries: Waltzing towards a collaboration

2019 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-336
Author(s):  
Tiberius Ignat ◽  
Darlene Cavalier ◽  
Caroline Nickerson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Present Context

The authors of this paper present context and case studies to illuminate several current policies, recommendations, and practices from the United States and Europe in support of libraries seeking to engage with citizen science, with the goal of encouraging librarians in Europe to leverage existing citizen science resources and take inspiration from successful international examples to make their libraries hubs for citizen science.

scholarly journals Estimating the annual distribution of monarch butterflies in Canada over 16 years using citizen science data

FACETS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 238-253
Author(s):  
D. T. Tyler Flockhart ◽  
Maxim Larrivée ◽  
Kathleen L. Prudic ◽  
D. Ryan Norris
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Habitat Restoration ◽  
Danaus Plexippus ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Eastern Canada ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Monarch Butterflies ◽  
Breeding Distribution

Monarch butterflies ( Danaus plexippus, Linnaeus, 1758) are comprised of two migratory populations separated by the Rocky Mountains and are renowned for their long-distance movements among the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Both populations have declined over several decades across North America prompting all three countries to evaluate conservation efforts. Monitoring monarch distribution and abundance is a necessary aspect of ongoing management in Canada where they are a species at risk. We used presence-only data from two citizen science data sets to estimate the annual breeding distribution of monarch butterflies in Canada between 2000 and 2015. Monarch breeding distribution in Canada varied widely among years owing to natural variation, and when considering the upper 95% of the probability of occurrence, the annual mean breeding distribution in Canada was 484 943 km2 (min: 173 449 km2; max: 1 425 835 km2). The area of occurrence was approximately an order of magnitude larger in eastern Canada than in western Canada. Habitat restoration for monarch butterflies in Canada should prioritize productive habitats in southern Ontario where monarchs occur annually and, therefore, likely contribute most to the long-term viability of monarchs in eastern North America. Overall, our assessment sets the geographic context to develop successful management strategies for monarchs in Canada.

More Than Just Networking for Citizen Science

2017 ◽  
pp. 24-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Göbel ◽  
Jessica L. Cappadonna ◽  
Gregory J. Newman ◽  
Jian Zhang ◽  
Katrin Vohland
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Science Activity ◽  
Recent Advances ◽  
New Knowledge ◽  
The World ◽  
Future Plans

Citizen science activity is growing rapidly around the world and diversifies into new disciplines with recent advances in technology. This expansion is accompanied by the formation of associations and networks dedicated to citizen science practitioners, which aim at supporting citizen science as a research approach. This chapter examines how four such organizations in the United States, Europe, Australia, and China have begun to take shape, and are working with citizen science communities and stakeholders in respective regions and globally. Challenges and future plans of these groups are also discussed. This chapter identifies three core roles of citizen science practitioner organization: 1) establishing communities of practitioners, 2) building expertise through sharing of existing and developing new knowledge, and 3) representing community interests. By focusing on this hitherto neglected phenomenon, the authors aim to stimulate further research, discussion and critical reflection on these central agents in the emerging citizen science landscape.

scholarly journals A citizen science approach to evaluating US cities for biotic homogenization

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Misha Leong ◽  
Michelle D Trautwein
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
The United States ◽  
Urban Biodiversity ◽  
Environmental Data ◽  
Science Data ◽  
Metropolitan Cities ◽  
Regional Specificity ◽  
Urban Intensification ◽  
The City ◽  
Us Cities

Background. Cities around the world have converged on structural and environmental characteristics that exert similar eco-evolutionary pressures on local communities. However, evaluating how urban biodiversity responds to urban intensification remains poorly understood because of the challenges in capturing the diversity of a range of taxa within and across multiple cities from different types of urbanization. Methods. Here we utilize a growing resource—citizen science data. We analyzed 66,209 observations representing 5,209 species generated by the City Nature Challenge project on the iNaturalist platform, in conjunction with remote sensing (NLCD2011) environmental data, to test for urban homogenization at increasing levels of urban intensity across 14 metropolitan cities in the United States. Results. Based on community composition analyses, we found that while urban homogenization occurs to an extent, urban biodiversity is often much more a reflection of the regional specificity of taxa. On the other hand, we also found that the most commonly observed species are often shared between cities and are non-endemic and/or have a distribution facilitated by humans. This study highlights the value of citizen science data in answering questions in urban ecology.

scholarly journals Sometimes I see spots: patterns of abundance and distribution of the bobcat (Lynx rufus) in different regions of México

Therya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 249-255
Author(s):  
Horacio Barcenas ◽  
Rodrigo A. Medellin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Camera Traps ◽  
Lynx Rufus ◽  
Southern United States ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
The North ◽  
Abundance Patterns ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Abundance And Distribution

Bobcats (Lynx rufus) are distributed throughout North America, but bobcat densities have been well-documented primarily only for the United States.  The highest known density of this species is in the southern United States, and from there their density decreases northward to southern Canada.  Despite the fact thatMéxico contains about 35 % of the species range, there are no data on their abundance or density in México. The objectives of this study were to document the density of bobcats from northwestern to southern México and to understand the abundance patterns of this species.  Camera traps were used in combination with capture-recapture models to estimate densities.  Using the MaxEnt ecological niche model, the potential distribution of the bobcat was obtained.  With an effort of 2,070 camera trap days, we obtained 41 bobcat photographs in five localities from 2005 to 2007.  Our estimated bobcat densities varied from 0.05 to 0.53 bobcat/km2.  Using MaxEnt, we estimated the available habitat in each site and extrapolated the density data to obtain a range of bobcat population estimates per site.  The areas estimated were between 1,861 to 16,663 km2, with a population from 592 to 2,161 bobcats.  Bobcat density in México is highest in the north and decreases to the south of its range.  Probably the optimal habitat for this species is found in the southern United States and northern México where the highest densities of its entire distribution occur. 

scholarly journals Citizen Science Provides an Efficient Method for Broad-Scale Tick-Borne Pathogen Surveillance of Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis across the United States

mSphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Tanner Porter ◽  
Julie Wachara ◽  
Zachary A. Barrand ◽  
Nathan C. Nieto ◽  
Daniel J. Salkeld
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Citizen Science ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Efficient Method ◽  
Ixodes Scapularis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Ixodes Pacificus ◽  
Zoonotic Pathogens ◽  
Broad Scale

In the 21st century, zoonotic pathogens continue to emerge, while previously discovered pathogens continue to have changes within their distribution and prevalence. Monitoring these pathogens is resource intensive, requiring both field and laboratory support; thus, data sets are often limited within their spatial and temporal extents.

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