Trade‐offs in moving citizen‐based anuran call surveys online during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: Lessons from rural Appalachia, USA

Smith, Walter H.; Hamed, M. Kevin

doi:10.1002/ece3.6654

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Outdoor citizen science programs had greater success with recruitment and engagement than other citizen science programs during the pandemic [22], but even these varied with respect to participation. For instance, while some projects experienced a decline in overall participation [1,19,23], other biological monitoring citizen science projects saw either no overall impact or an increase in data collection from the volunteers they retained [24][25][26]. In both cases, observations typically came from a small subset of participants who either sustained participation or became more active during the pandemic, often in pursuit of a hobby or sense of normalcy [1,19,[23][24][25].…”

Section: Citizen Science Projects and The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, while some projects experienced a decline in overall participation [1,19,23], other biological monitoring citizen science projects saw either no overall impact or an increase in data collection from the volunteers they retained [24][25][26]. In both cases, observations typically came from a small subset of participants who either sustained participation or became more active during the pandemic, often in pursuit of a hobby or sense of normalcy [1,19,[23][24][25]. Thus, in some instances, the pandemic became an opportunity for citizen science projects to harness the enthusiasm of some participants under quarantine toward field-based data collection; whereas in other cases, data collection declined [1,19,21].…”

Section: Citizen Science Projects and The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Influence of an extreme event—the COVID-19 pandemic—On establishment of and data collection by a citizen science project

Zhang,

Baldwin,

Hundley

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

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The recent rising incidence of extreme natural events may significantly influence the implementation of citizen science projects, including the success of outreach strategies and the quality and scope of data collection. The MassMammals Watch and subsidiary MassBears citizen science projects, initiated during the height of the pandemic, recruit volunteers to submit sightings of black bears and other mammals. In this study, we evaluated the methods we employed for engaging and retaining community volunteers during a period of intense social restrictions, and we assessed whether such conditions were associated with spatial biases in our collected data. Newspaper features were more likely to recruit volunteers who engaged with the project multiple times, but social media and internet presence were important for reaching a larger audience. Bear sighting submissions peaked in number and were more likely to be in forested areas during 2020, the height of the pandemic, compared to later years, a pattern which we suggest stems from an increased desire to participate in outdoor activities in light of social distancing measures during that year. Such shifts in patterns of data collection are likely to continue, particularly in response to increasing extreme weather events associated with climate change. Here, we both make recommendations on optimal outreach strategies for others initiating citizen science programs and illustrate the importance of assessing potential biases in data collection imposed by extreme circumstances.

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Section: Citizen Science Projects and The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Citizen Science Projects and The Covid-19 Pandemicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of an extreme event—the COVID-19 pandemic—On establishment of and data collection by a citizen science project

Zhang,

Baldwin,

Hundley

et al. 2024

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While the need for social distancing during the pandemic caused some community science projects to pause activities (Escoto-Murillo and Alfaro 2021; Lepenies and Zakari 2021), others have been conducted fully online and have seen steady or increased participation (Basile et al 2021;Crimmins et al 2021). Some projects that previously included in-person training moved online to allow their continuation (Dwivedi 2020;Smith and Hamed 2020). Additionally, new projects have been developed to provide a source of data during lockdowns and to create opportunities for students to engage in the scientific process remotely (Arbeláez-Cortés et al 2021;Oberbauer et al 2021).…”

Section: Ecologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These inequities were exacerbated by the pandemic. For example, people who do not have internet access and children who do not have a parent available at home to help them are often unable to participate in online community science projects (Smith and Hamed 2020;Van Haeften et al 2020).…”

Section: Ecologicalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accessibility of Participation in a Pollinator-Focused Community Science Project

Lynch

Miller

2023

CSTP

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Ecological research, education, and community engagement were interrupted globally in the spring and summer of 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. To allow for continued data collection and to provide opportunities for people to interact with nature, we developed a community science project focusing on pollinator visitation to gardens and lawns. To evaluate the accessibility of this project to volunteers, we conducted 28 semistructured interviews with people who participated in the project training. Interviewees experienced a number of barriers to participation, the most common of which were difficulty with the data collection procedure (n = 22), challenges using technology (n = 11), and lack of access to technology (n = 9). However, components of the online training and data collection procedure helped overcome some of these barriers. Strategies such as using a hybrid training format, simplifying the use of technology during training, and incorporating active learning into online workshops could increase participation in community science projects, both in the context of the pandemic and moving forward.

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“…However, the citizen science activities of "Tatort Streetlight" had just started when the lockdown to prevent COVID-19 began in March 2020. Projects with established citizen science infrastructure and engaged participants could benefit from increased citizen science data numbers and quality within the pandemic lockdown situation [74,75]. The first results from "Tatort Streetlight" indicate stakeholder interest in the subject, although the citizen science motivation and participation in "Tatort Streetlight" were clearly hampered by the COVID-19 outbreak due to the lack of established communities and digital infrastructure.…”

Section: The Citizen Science Approach and Stakeholder Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting—A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists

Schroer

Austen

Moczek

et al. 2021

Insects

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(1) The project “Tatort Streetlight” implements an insect-friendly road light design in a four year before–after, control–impact (BACI) approach involving citizen scientists. It will broaden the stakeholder interests from solely anthropogenic perspectives to include the welfare of insects and ecosystems. Motivated by the detrimental impacts of road lighting systems on insects, the project aims to find solutions to reduce the insect attraction and habitat fragmentation resulting from roadway illumination. (2) The citizen science approach invites stakeholders to take part and join forces for the development of a sustainable and environmentally friendly road lighting solution. Here, we describe the project strategy, stakeholder participation and motivation, and how the effects of the alternative road luminaire and lighting design can be evaluated. (3) The study compares the changes in (a) insect behavior, (b) night sky brightness, and (c) stakeholder participation and awareness. For this purpose, different experimental areas and stakeholders in four communities in Germany are identified. (4) The project transfers knowledge of adverse effects of improperly managed road illumination and interacts with various stakeholders to develop a new road lighting system that will consider the well-being of street users, local residents, and insects.

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Trade‐offs in moving citizen‐based anuran call surveys online during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: Lessons from rural Appalachia, USA

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

Influence of an extreme event—the COVID-19 pandemic—On establishment of and data collection by a citizen science project

Influence of an extreme event—the COVID-19 pandemic—On establishment of and data collection by a citizen science project

Accessibility of Participation in a Pollinator-Focused Community Science Project

Towards Insect-Friendly Road Lighting—A Transdisciplinary Multi-Stakeholder Approach Involving Citizen Scientists

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