Low-Cost Citizen Science Effectively Monitors the Rapid Expansion of a Marine Invasive Species

Citizen science and informed citizens have become fundamental in providing the first records and accounts about the expansion of numerous non-indigenous species. However, implementing a successful citizen science campaign can be expensive and particularly difficult for aquatic species. Here, we demonstrate how a low-cost citizen science campaign and its outreach plan in social and traditional media enabled to track the expansion of the Atlantic blue crab Callinectes sapidus Rathbun, 1896 along the coast of Algarve (southern Portugal, Europe). We describe the outreach strategy and a cost-benefit analysis of the first year of the citizen science campaign. Social media platforms allowed us to reach a significant number of citizens (over 31,500 clicks in Facebook publications), while traditional media gave national visibility to the citizen science campaign and biological invasions. In only 1 year, we documented the spread of the invasive Atlantic blue crab across the entire 140 km of the Algarve coast with 166 valid observations referring to 1747 specimens, submitted by 62 citizen scientists. We spent 0 € on the citizen science campaign, but considering the time invested in the campaign the cost would have summed up to 3,751 €, while the total minimum cost for one scientist to go to the field and retrieve the equivalent information would have exceeded 11,000 €. We used free online tools of communication to obtain the records about the Atlantic blue crab, instead of a dedicated web platform or mobile app, and handled social media accounts ourselves, which saved us at least 18,815 €. The citizen science campaign revealed that the Atlantic blue crab is unequivocally established in southern Portugal and that females appear to exhibit summer migrations to coastal areas to spawn as in the native area. Overall, our low-cost citizen science campaign effectively documented the rapid spread of a marine invasive species while providing some insights into its ecology. Our strategy can be easily replicated and implemented elsewhere in the world to tackle the ever-growing problem of biological invasions while increasing the scientific literacy of local populations.

Download Full-text

Marine invasive species: validation of citizen science and implications for national monitoring networks

Biological Invasions ◽

10.1007/s10530-007-9114-0 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 117-128 ◽

Cited By ~ 269

Author(s):

David G. Delaney ◽

Corinne D. Sperling ◽

Christiaan S. Adams ◽

Brian Leung

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Monitoring Networks ◽

National Monitoring ◽

Marine Invasive Species

Download Full-text

Citizens’ Eyes on Mnemiopsis: How to Multiply Sightings with a Click!

Diversity ◽

10.3390/d13060224 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (6) ◽

pp. 224

Author(s):

Valentina Tirelli ◽

Alenka Goruppi ◽

Rodolfo Riccamboni ◽

Milena Tempesta

Keyword(s):

Invasive Species ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Adriatic Sea ◽

Sea Turtles ◽

Digital Technologies ◽

Mnemiopsis Leidyi ◽

Pen Shell ◽

Marine Invasive Species ◽

Scyphozoan Jellyfish ◽

Italian Coast

Monitoring the spreading of marine invasive species represents one of the most relevant challenges for marine scientists in order to understand their impact on the environment. In recent years, citizen science is becoming more and more involved in research programs, especially taking advantage of new digital technologies. Here, we present the results obtained in the first 20 months (from 12 July 2019 to 8 March 2021) since launching avvistAPP. This new app was conceived to track the spreading of the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi in the Adriatic Sea; it was also designed to collect sightings of 18 additional marine taxa (ctenophores, jellyfish, sea turtles, dolphins, salps and noble pen shell). A total of 1224 sightings were recorded, of which 530 referred to Mnemiopsis, followed by the scyphozoan jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (22%), Cotylorhiza tuberculata (11%) and Aurelia spp. (8%). avvistAPP produced data confirming the presence of Mnemiopsis (often in abundances > 20 individuals m−2) along almost the entire Italian coast in the summer of 2019 and 2020.

Download Full-text

Opportunities for Qualitative Analysis of Social Media Platforms in Dietetic Research and Practice

Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research ◽

10.3148/cjdpr-2020-035 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Meghan Lynch ◽

Irena Knezevic ◽

Kennedy Laborde Ryan

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Low Cost ◽

Online News ◽

News Article ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Research And Practice ◽

The Public ◽

Related Data ◽

Social Media Platforms ◽

Article Comment

To date, most qualitative knowledge about individual eating patterns and the food environment has been derived from traditional data collection methods, such as interviews, focus groups, and observations. However, there currently exists a large source of nutrition-related data in social media discussions that have the potential to provide opportunities to improve dietetic research and practice. Qualitative social media discussion analysis offers a new tool for dietetic researchers and practitioners to gather insights into how the public discusses various nutrition-related topics. We first consider how social media discussion data come with significant advantages including low-cost access to timely ways to gather insights from the public, while also cautioning that social media data have limitations (e.g., difficulty verifying demographic information). We then outline 3 types of social media discussion platforms in particular: (i) online news article comment sections, (ii) food and nutrition blogs, and (iii) discussion forums. We discuss how each different type of social media offers unique insights and provide a specific example from our own research using each platform. We contend that social media discussions can contribute positively to dietetic research and practice.

Download Full-text

Indigenous language newspapers and the digital media conundrum in Africa

Information Development ◽

10.1177/0266666920983403 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 026666692098340

Author(s):

Kevin Onyenankeya

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Digital Media ◽

Digital Transformation ◽

Qualitative Approach ◽

Indigenous Language ◽

Technological Determinism ◽

Traditional Media ◽

Digital Revolution ◽

The Future ◽

Major Factors

The future of journalism is being shaped by the convergence of technology and societal shifts. For indigenous language press in Africa battling to stay afloat amidst stiff competition from traditional media, the pervasive and rapidly encroaching digital transformation holds both opportunities and potential threats. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examined the implication of the shift to digital media for the future of the indigenous language newspaper in Africa and identifies opportunities for its sustainability within the framework of the theories of technological determinism and alternative media. The analysis indicates poor funding, shrinking patronage, and competition from traditional and social media as the major factors facing indigenous newspapers. It emerged that for indigenous language newspapers to thrive in the rapidly changing and technology-driven world they need to not only adapt to the digital revolution but also explore a business model that combines a futuristic outlook with a practical approach.

Download Full-text

Credibility of Digital Political News in Spain: Comparison between Traditional Media and Social Media

Social Sciences ◽

10.3390/socsci10050170 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 170

Author(s):

Reinald Besalú ◽

Carles Pont-Sorribes

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

News Item ◽

Digital Television ◽

Fake News ◽

Traditional Media ◽

Political News ◽

Digital News ◽

Key Factor ◽

The Mean ◽

Digital Formats

In the context of the dissemination of fake news and the traditional media outlets’ loss of centrality, the credibility of digital news emerges as a key factor for today’s democracies. The main goal of this paper was to identify the levels of credibility that Spanish citizens assign to political news in the online environment. A national survey (n = 1669) was designed to assess how the news format affected credibility and likelihood of sharing. Four different news formats were assessed, two of them linked to traditional media (digital newspapers and digital television) and two to social media (Facebook and WhatsApp). Four experimental groups assigned a credibility score and a likelihood of sharing score to four different political news items presented in the aforementioned digital formats. The comparison between the mean credibility scores assigned to the same news item presented in different formats showed significant differences among groups, as did the likelihood of sharing the news. News items shown in a traditional media format, especially digital television, were assigned more credibility than news presented in a social media format, and participants were also more likely to share the former, revealing a more cautious attitude towards social media as a source of news.

Download Full-text

Real-time clinician text feeds from electronic health records

npj Digital Medicine ◽

10.1038/s41746-021-00406-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

Author(s):

James T. H. Teo ◽

Vlad Dinu ◽

William Bernal ◽

Phil Davidson ◽

Vitaliy Oliynyk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Electronic Health Records ◽

Real Time ◽

Capacity Planning ◽

Low Cost ◽

Disease Outbreaks ◽

Record System ◽

Health Records ◽

Keywords And Phrases ◽

Electronic Health

AbstractAnalyses of search engine and social media feeds have been attempted for infectious disease outbreaks, but have been found to be susceptible to artefactual distortions from health scares or keyword spamming in social media or the public internet. We describe an approach using real-time aggregation of keywords and phrases of freetext from real-time clinician-generated documentation in electronic health records to produce a customisable real-time viral pneumonia signal providing up to 4 days warning for secondary care capacity planning. This low-cost approach is open-source, is locally customisable, is not dependent on any specific electronic health record system and can provide an ensemble of signals if deployed at multiple organisational scales.

Download Full-text

The Patient in Patient Safety: Contemporary Issues, From COVID-19 to Citizen Science

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857921101263 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 301-303

Author(s):

Elizabeth Lerner Papautsky ◽

Richard J. Holden ◽

Rupa S. Valdez ◽

Jordan Hill ◽

Janetta Brown

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Patient Safety ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Human Subjects ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Human Subjects Research ◽

Research Strategies ◽

Face To Face

In the 4th panel on the topic of The Patient in Patient Safety, we highlighted topics of current relevance and facilitated a reflection session. The objective was to highlight the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted patient ergonomics research and work, with particular focus on safety. After a topic overview, panelists presented their work on overcoming challenges to human subjects research created by the suspension of face-to-face activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. A facilitated reflection and brainstorming session using Miro followed. We used questions to elicit examples of patient and caregiver roles in safety during the pandemic and research strategies and challenges. These questions were also distributed on social media prior to the event. The panel served as an opportunity to share lessons learned.

Download Full-text

Citizen science via social media revealed conditions of symbiosis between a marine gastropod and an epibiotic alga

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-74946-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Osamu Kagawa ◽

◽

Shota Uchida ◽

Daishi Yamazaki ◽

Yumiko Osawa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Heat Stress ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Citizen Science ◽

Bayesian Model ◽

Symbiotic Relationship ◽

Hierarchical Bayesian Model ◽

Symbiotic Interaction ◽

Intertidal Gastropod ◽

Substrate Size

AbstractEnvironmental factors promote symbiosis, but its mechanism is not yet well understood. The alga Pseudocladophora conchopheria grows only on the shell of an intertidal gastropod Lunella correensis, and these species have a close symbiotic relationship which the alga reduces heat stress of the gastropod. In collaboration with general public, we investigated how environmental conditions alter the symbiotic interaction between the alga and the gastropod. Information about the habitats of each gastropod and images of shells was obtained from the Japanese and Korean coasts via social media. We constructed the hierarchical Bayesian model using the data. The results indicated that the proportion of shell area covered by P. conchopheria increased as the substrate size utilized by the gastropod increased. Meanwhile, temperature did not affect the proportion of P. conchopheria on the shell. These suggested that the alga provides no benefits for the gastropod on small substrates because gastropod can reduce the heat stress by diving into the small sediment. Further, the gastropod’s cost incurred by growing the alga on the shell seems to be low as the algae can grow even in cooler places where no benefits of heat resistance for gastropods. Different environments can yield variable conditions in symbiosis.

Download Full-text