Next-generation ultrasonic recorders facilitate effective bat activity and distribution monitoring by citizen scientists

• Published in: Ecosphere
• Main Authors: Lundberg, Piia, Meierhofer, Melissa, Vasko, Ville Veijo Wilhelm, Suutari, Miina Sofia, Ojala, Ann, Vainio, Annukka, Lilley, Thomas M.
• Other Authors: Finnish Museum of Natural History, Zoology, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science (HELSUS), Department of Forest Sciences, Faculty Common Matters (Faculty of Social Sciences), Forest Economics, Business and Society
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 2021
• Subjects: 1181 Ecology; evolutionary biology; acoustic monitoring; bats; citizen science; data collection; environmental change; environmental education; SCIENCE DATA; PIPISTRELLUS-NATHUSII; CLIMATE-CHANGE; RELIABILITY; Pipistrellus nathusii
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10138/337674

Time and budgetary resources are often a limiting factor in the collection of large-scale ecological data. If data collected by citizen scientists were comparable to data collected by researchers, it would allow for more efficient data collection over a broad geographic area. Here, we compare the quality of data on bat activity collected by citizens (high school students and teachers) and researchers. Both researchers and citizen scientists used the same comprehensive instructions when choosing study sites. We found no statistically significant difference in total bat activity minutes recorded by citizens and researchers. Instead, citizen scientists collected data from a wider variety of habitats than researchers. Involvement of citizens also increased the geographical coverage of data collection, resulting in the northernmost documentation of the Nathusius’s pipistrelle so far in Finland. Therefore, bat research can benefit from the use of citizen science when participants are given precise instructions and calibrated data collection equipment. Citizen science projects also have other far-reaching benefits, increasing, for example, the scientific literacy and interest in natural sciences of citizens. Involving citizens in science projects also has the potential to enhance their willingness to conserve nature. Peer reviewed