Evidence of a range expansion in sunfish from 47 years of coastal sightings

Almost nothing is known about the historical abundance of the ocean sunfish. Yet as an ecologically and functionally important taxa, understanding changes in abundance may be a useful indicator of how our seas are responding to anthropogenic changes including overfishing and climate change. Within this context, sightings from a coastal bird observatory (51.26$$^\circ$$ ∘ N, 9.30$$^\circ$$ ∘ W) over a 47 year period (from April to October 1971–2017) provided the first long-term index of sunfish abundance. Using a general linear mixed effect model with a hurdle to deal with imperfect detectability and to model trends, a higher probability of detecting sunfish was found in the 1990s and 2000s. Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) phytoplankton color indices and the annual mean position of the 13 $$^{\circ }$$ ∘ C sea surface isotherm were significantly correlated with the probability of detecting sunfish. An increase in siphonophore abundance (as measured by the CPR) was also documented. However, this increase occurred 10–15 years after the sunfish increase and was not significantly correlated with sunfish abundance. Our results suggest that the observed increase in sunfish sightings is evidence of a range expansion because it was significantly correlated with the mean position of the 13 $$^{\circ }$$ ∘ C isotherm which moved northwards by over 200 km. Furthermore, the observed increase in sunfish occured 10 years before sunfish sightings are documented in Icelandic and Norwegian waters, and was concurrent with well-known range expansions for other fish species during the 1990s. This study demonstrates how sustained citizen science projects can provide unique insights on the historical abundance of this enigmatic species.

An Analysis of the Accuracy of Photo-Based Plant Identification Applications on Fifty-Five Tree Species

Background: With the creation of photo-based plant identification applications (apps), the ability to attain basic identifications of plants in the field is seemingly available to anyone who has access to a smartphone. The use of such apps as an educational tool for students and as a major identification resource for some community science projects calls into question the accuracy of the identifications they provide. We created a study based on the context of local tree species in order to offer an informed response to students asking for guidance when choosing a tool for their support in classes. Methods: This study tested 6 mobile plant identification apps on a set of 440 photographs representing the leaves and bark of 55 tree species common to the state of New Jersey (USA). Results: Of the 6 apps tested, PictureThis was the most accurate, followed by iNaturalist, with PlantSnap failing to offer consistently accurate identifications. Overall, these apps are much more accurate in identifying leaf photos as compared to bark photos, and while these apps offer accurate identifications to the genus-level, there seems to be little accuracy in successfully identifying photos to the species-level. Conclusions: While these apps cannot replace traditional field identification, they can be used with high confidence as a tool to assist inexperienced or unsure arborists, foresters, or ecologists by helping to refine the pool of possible species for further identification.

Citizen Science Addressing Challenges of Sustainability

Practices for the engagement of citizens and other research and innovation (R and I) stakeholders in science can be found aplenty in the existing literature, all along with principles, guidelines and tools providing meaningful guidance for practitioners in research funding and performing, organizations (RPFOs) and helping them achieve high quality and responsible citizen science projects addressing sustainability challenges. Such guidance, however, is scarce when it comes to setting up and running transdisciplinary citizen science eco systems, where projects can be systematically initiated by different stakeholders and carried out in a dedicated supportive environment. Based on literature review and series of semi-structured interviews with quadruple helix stakeholders in Lithuania, this paper provides a current overview of the perceptions, concerns, motivational factors, and obstacles with regard to participation in citizen science activities.

The universities’ role in developing citizen science discourse

The article, aimed at mapping ways to enhance the systemic character and sustainability of citizen science, analyses the state of its discourse in the Russian context. The analysis, relying upon the multiple actor interdisciplinary paradigm within the framework of rational agency, applied comparative and analytical methods. The research concentrated on identifying common invariant features in the processes of initiating and developing citizen science projects, as well as on distinguishing core unresolved issues. The article points out the relevance of citizen science, viewing the latter as a reflection of changes in the relationships and activities undertaken by people, communities and society at large, diverse actors getting more and more involved in these activities, with their functionality and impact on social processes being expanded. The research can be considered brandly new, because it defines the role of citizen science as a new synergetic paradigm for the development of science and higher education in Russia, and as an important communication-and-cooperation channel between higher education and society at large. In particular, it is revealed that at the macrolevel, citizen science projects contribute to the democratization of both scientific research and society as a whole by invoking actors from various social spheres and subsystems, as well as by strengthening citizens’ confidence in the state. At the microlevel, the projects contribute to the universities’ educational and social mission, expand and diversify the interaction of HEIs with society, and foster new research questions formulation. The practical use of the research is viewed as a possible integration of our conclusions in the further practice-oriented investigations, in forming citizen science backgrounds, competences, and methodological base. Of no less importance are the materials for the training programmes modernization in the field of science and higher education administration.

Citizen science in cities: an overview of projects focused on urban Australia

Citizen science offers a unique opportunity to connect urban-dwellers with the often hidden natural world upon their doorsteps and to contribute to authentic research that increases knowledge of urban ecology and biodiversity. With the majority of Australia’s population residing in large cities, this diverse potential pool of participants in science creates a significant opportunity to increase the spatial and temporal scale of research. Herein, we provide an overview of Australian urban citizen science projects based on an analysis of the projects listed in the Australian Citizen Science Association’s Citizen Science Project Finder. We draw out key features (such as those with research questions specific to cities such as reintroduction and persistence of species in urban environments) from urban citizen science projects that make them suitable for the urban environment and use these features to suggest recommendations for further expansion and development of this important subset of projects. We conclude that the number and diversity of urban citizen science projects is relatively low in Australia, and advocate for an increase in initiatives that can tap into a large pool of potential participants for the benefit of science and society.