scholarly journals Citizen Science and Its Contribution to the Conservation of Sacramento Valley Red Foxes in California

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amy Brasch

<p>Red foxes found in the Sacramento Valley of California, referred to as SV red foxes throughout this thesis, were assumed to be of non-native ancestry until recent genetic testing confirmed their historical link to the area. The development of an effective conservation strategy for SV red foxes is currently underway, but was initially hindered by the lack of details regarding habitat requirements, occupancy patterns, and population sizes. In 2007, the University of California, Davis launched a fox reporting website for the public to document any fox sightings. Researchers actively pursued the public fox sighting reports from 2007-2009 and found 51 active red fox dens, 48 of which were native SV red fox dens, throughout the Sacramento Valley based on the locations provided in the reports.  The objectives of my research are to answer the following questions: (1) What can the data provided in the previously obtained fox sighting reports reveal about the website trends and fox ecology? (2) What types of relationships occur between the public and the SV red fox research efforts, and how can the participants’ experience be improved to ensure long-term participation? (3) Can a recently developed presence-only SV habitat model be used as a filter for future incoming reports, and what are the relationships between the reports with a high probability of fox presence and its associate report components?  In chapter one, I assess how effective the public sighting reports (n= 248) were in: assisting researchers with locating SV red fox dens, providing information about habitat preferences of the SV red foxes, and supplying insights of the website. The results showed that the distance from Yolo County, where the highest amount of SV red fox dens is located and where the initial study was conducted, can explain 38% of the variation in the quantity of reports collected from the website.  In chapter two, I administered an online survey to the residents of the Sacramento Valley to gauge their outlook on SV red foxes and their opinions of the fox reporting website. The survey respondents included both previous website visitors and new website visitors. I summarized the responses (n= 310 total, n= 210 complete) and ran a series of statistical analyses to evaluate the social characteristics of the participants utilizing the website. Overall, the majority of participants responded positively to the website, declaring it interesting and helpful. However, there is a low rate of return visitors. The main users of the fox sighting website are older participants and/or participants with a higher level of education.  In the third chapter of this research, I overlaid the fox sighting report locations onto the SV habitat model using ERSI® ArcMap v 10.0 and coded them for habitat suitability values. Analysing previously obtained fox sighting reports provided the necessary insight to define the criteria for the data filter. By implementing a habitat model filter at moderate habitat suitability levels, researchers can reduce the time it takes them to validate the public data received. However, a coinciding filter recording distribution frequency for report locations should also be implemented to compensate for dens located in low habitat suitability levels.  Prior to this research, the data collected from the public had never been evaluated for purposes other than locating potential SV red foxes. By reviewing feedback from the participants, I was able to characterise the participants using the fox reporting website and assess their general SV red fox knowledge. The findings of my research also lead to insights about SV red fox ecology. However, the major finding in this research shows that the majority of local citizens participating in this study indicated awareness of SV red foxes nativity and endangerment. The methods used in my research can be applied to other citizen science projects, to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of collecting data.</p>

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Amy Brasch

<p>Red foxes found in the Sacramento Valley of California, referred to as SV red foxes throughout this thesis, were assumed to be of non-native ancestry until recent genetic testing confirmed their historical link to the area. The development of an effective conservation strategy for SV red foxes is currently underway, but was initially hindered by the lack of details regarding habitat requirements, occupancy patterns, and population sizes. In 2007, the University of California, Davis launched a fox reporting website for the public to document any fox sightings. Researchers actively pursued the public fox sighting reports from 2007-2009 and found 51 active red fox dens, 48 of which were native SV red fox dens, throughout the Sacramento Valley based on the locations provided in the reports.  The objectives of my research are to answer the following questions: (1) What can the data provided in the previously obtained fox sighting reports reveal about the website trends and fox ecology? (2) What types of relationships occur between the public and the SV red fox research efforts, and how can the participants’ experience be improved to ensure long-term participation? (3) Can a recently developed presence-only SV habitat model be used as a filter for future incoming reports, and what are the relationships between the reports with a high probability of fox presence and its associate report components?  In chapter one, I assess how effective the public sighting reports (n= 248) were in: assisting researchers with locating SV red fox dens, providing information about habitat preferences of the SV red foxes, and supplying insights of the website. The results showed that the distance from Yolo County, where the highest amount of SV red fox dens is located and where the initial study was conducted, can explain 38% of the variation in the quantity of reports collected from the website.  In chapter two, I administered an online survey to the residents of the Sacramento Valley to gauge their outlook on SV red foxes and their opinions of the fox reporting website. The survey respondents included both previous website visitors and new website visitors. I summarized the responses (n= 310 total, n= 210 complete) and ran a series of statistical analyses to evaluate the social characteristics of the participants utilizing the website. Overall, the majority of participants responded positively to the website, declaring it interesting and helpful. However, there is a low rate of return visitors. The main users of the fox sighting website are older participants and/or participants with a higher level of education.  In the third chapter of this research, I overlaid the fox sighting report locations onto the SV habitat model using ERSI® ArcMap v 10.0 and coded them for habitat suitability values. Analysing previously obtained fox sighting reports provided the necessary insight to define the criteria for the data filter. By implementing a habitat model filter at moderate habitat suitability levels, researchers can reduce the time it takes them to validate the public data received. However, a coinciding filter recording distribution frequency for report locations should also be implemented to compensate for dens located in low habitat suitability levels.  Prior to this research, the data collected from the public had never been evaluated for purposes other than locating potential SV red foxes. By reviewing feedback from the participants, I was able to characterise the participants using the fox reporting website and assess their general SV red fox knowledge. The findings of my research also lead to insights about SV red fox ecology. However, the major finding in this research shows that the majority of local citizens participating in this study indicated awareness of SV red foxes nativity and endangerment. The methods used in my research can be applied to other citizen science projects, to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of collecting data.</p>


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
BN Sacks ◽  
MJ Statham ◽  
Heiko Wittmer

© 2017, Allen Press. All rights reserved. The Sacramento Valley red fox Vulpes vulpes patwin of California is a newly named subspecies recently found to be distinct both from other native red foxes and nearby introduced populations. The Sacramento Valley red fox experienced a historical demographic bottleneck resulting in a critically small genetic effective population size, causing concern over its current status and management requirements, yet little is known about its contemporary abundance, demographic trajectory, or habitat use. The hot, arid Sacramento Valley contrasts starkly in climate and physiography with the boreal habitats of other indigenous red foxes in western North America, indicating the need to obtain information specifically on the habitat requirements of this subspecies. A 3-y effort to locate reproductive den sites throughout the Sacramento Valley resulted in 42 independent dens, which we used to obtain preliminary information on habitat use and to develop a distribution model for this subspecies, and 28 Sacramento Valley red foxes killed by vehicles, which we used as independent data to test the models. Foxes were present significantly more than expected in grasslands and less than expected in wetlands and flooded agriculture and also tended to occur in proximity to human development, potentially as refuges from coyotes Canis latrans. We used Maxent to build predictive models. The best model, which incorporated vegetation/land-use classes and proximity to human development, identified 24% of the study area as predicted-presence habitat, which contained 76% of the den sites used to construct the model and 89% of independent locations used to test the model. Our model greatly narrowed the area over which foxes are predicted to occur and will facilitate future surveys to assess occupancy and ultimately abundance and population trends.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
BN Sacks ◽  
MJ Statham ◽  
Heiko Wittmer

© 2017, Allen Press. All rights reserved. The Sacramento Valley red fox Vulpes vulpes patwin of California is a newly named subspecies recently found to be distinct both from other native red foxes and nearby introduced populations. The Sacramento Valley red fox experienced a historical demographic bottleneck resulting in a critically small genetic effective population size, causing concern over its current status and management requirements, yet little is known about its contemporary abundance, demographic trajectory, or habitat use. The hot, arid Sacramento Valley contrasts starkly in climate and physiography with the boreal habitats of other indigenous red foxes in western North America, indicating the need to obtain information specifically on the habitat requirements of this subspecies. A 3-y effort to locate reproductive den sites throughout the Sacramento Valley resulted in 42 independent dens, which we used to obtain preliminary information on habitat use and to develop a distribution model for this subspecies, and 28 Sacramento Valley red foxes killed by vehicles, which we used as independent data to test the models. Foxes were present significantly more than expected in grasslands and less than expected in wetlands and flooded agriculture and also tended to occur in proximity to human development, potentially as refuges from coyotes Canis latrans. We used Maxent to build predictive models. The best model, which incorporated vegetation/land-use classes and proximity to human development, identified 24% of the study area as predicted-presence habitat, which contained 76% of the den sites used to construct the model and 89% of independent locations used to test the model. Our model greatly narrowed the area over which foxes are predicted to occur and will facilitate future surveys to assess occupancy and ultimately abundance and population trends.


2010 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1523-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin N. Sacks ◽  
Mark J. Statham ◽  
John D. Perrine ◽  
Samantha M. Wisely ◽  
Keith B. Aubry

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin N. Sacks ◽  
Mark J. Statham ◽  
Heiko U. Wittmer

Abstract The Sacramento Valley red fox Vulpes vulpes patwin of California is a newly named subspecies recently found to be distinct both from other native red foxes and nearby introduced populations. The Sacramento Valley red fox experienced a historical demographic bottleneck resulting in a critically small genetic effective population size, causing concern over its current status and management requirements, yet little is known about its contemporary abundance, demographic trajectory, or habitat use. The hot, arid Sacramento Valley contrasts starkly in climate and physiography with the boreal habitats of other indigenous red foxes in western North America, indicating the need to obtain information specifically on the habitat requirements of this subspecies. A 3-y effort to locate reproductive den sites throughout the Sacramento Valley resulted in 42 independent dens, which we used to obtain preliminary information on habitat use and to develop a distribution model for this subspecies, and 28 Sacramento Valley red foxes killed by vehicles, which we used as independent data to test the models. Foxes were present significantly more than expected in grasslands and less than expected in wetlands and flooded agriculture and also tended to occur in proximity to human development, potentially as refuges from coyotes Canis latrans. We used Maxent to build predictive models. The best model, which incorporated vegetation/land-use classes and proximity to human development, identified 24% of the study area as predicted-presence habitat, which contained 76% of the den sites used to construct the model and 89% of independent locations used to test the model. Our model greatly narrowed the area over which foxes are predicted to occur and will facilitate future surveys to assess occupancy and ultimately abundance and population trends.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Iqbal Perkasa ◽  
Eko Budi Setiawan

Data is one of the most important things in this information and information technology era that evolving now. Currently, the government still has not used the public data maximally for administrative purposes. Utilization of this big population data is the creation of a web service application system with REST API where this data will be open and accessible to those who have access. One of the institutions that use this service is the Manpower and Transmigration Service where this system can make the Dinas staff more efficient to create and register job search cards using available community data. This application is able to provide and facilitate many parties, such as data administrators to monitor data usage, registration employee in input data, and people able to register independently. Index Terms—Web service, API, Rest api, People data


Author(s):  
Andrea Kropp ◽  
Gaurang Mitu Gulati ◽  
Mark C. Weidemaier

Author(s):  
Thomas A. Norton ◽  
Melissa Ruhl ◽  
Tim Armitage ◽  
Brian Matthews ◽  
John Miles

The development of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is advancing quickly in some enclaves around the world. Consequently, AVs exist in the public consciousness, featuring regularly in mainstream media. As the form and function of AVs emerge, the attitudes of potential users become more important. The extent to which the public trusts AV technology and anticipates benefits, will drive consumer willingness to use AVs. Broadly, public attitudes will determine whether AVs can attract public investment in infrastructure and become a feature of the future transport mix or fail to realize the potential their developers assert. As part of UK Autodrive, a program trialing the introduction of AVs in the United Kingdom, researchers conducted focus groups in five UK cities, and a comparison focus group in San Francisco (December 2017 to September 2018) using representative samples (total n = 137). Focus group facilitators guided discussions in three areas considered central to usage decisions: trust in the technology, ownership models, and community benefit. This paper describes findings from a quasi-quantitative study supported with qualitative insights. This research provides three key takeaways centering on trust in the technology and in delivering benefit. First, some participants gain trust through experience and others through evidence. Second, participants had difficulty discriminating between AV developers, indicating a need for industry cooperation. Third, partnerships were found to demonstrate trust, highlighting the need for more and deeper partnerships moving forward. Generally, participants had positive attitudes toward AVs and expect AVs to provide benefits. However, these attitudes and expectations could change as AV development progresses.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 683
Author(s):  
Marc Herremans ◽  
Karin Gielen ◽  
Jos Van Kerckhoven ◽  
Pieter Vanormelingen ◽  
Wim Veraghtert ◽  
...  

The peacock butterfly is abundant and widespread in Europe. It is generally believed to be univoltine (one generation per year): adults born in summer overwinter and reappear again in spring to reproduce. However, recent flight patterns in western Europe mostly show three peaks during the year: a first one in spring (overwintering butterflies), a second one in early summer (offspring of the spring generation), and a third one in autumn. It was thus far unclear whether this autumn flight peak was a second new generation or consisted of butterflies flying again in autumn after a summer rest (aestivation). The life cycle of one of Europe’s most common butterflies is therefore still surprisingly inadequately understood. We used hundreds of thousands of observations and thousands of pictures submitted by naturalists from the public to the online portal observation.orgin Belgium and analyzed relations between flight patterns, condition (wear), reproductive cycles, peak abundances, and phenology to clarify the current life history. We demonstrate that peacocks have shifted towards two new generations per year in recent decades. Mass citizen science data in online portals has become increasingly important in tracking the response of biodiversity to rapid environmental changes such as climate change.


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