Biologists developing global citizen network to monitor insect abundance


Date:
September 16, 2020
Source:
University of Arkansas
Summary:
Biologists are building a volunteer network of citizen scientists
to help monitor the abundance of dragonflies and damselflies.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A U of A biologist is part of an international team of researchers
building a volunteer network of citizen scientists to help monitor the abundance of dragonflies and damselflies.


========================================================================== Recent studies have indicated that insect species in general are declining throughout the world and could be headed toward collapse due to intensive agricultural practices, climate change and habitat loss. For many species, however, there isn't enough baseline data to determine trends in insect abundance.

Adam Siepielski, associate professor of biology, is part of a team working
on a solution -- establishing a volunteer network that will collect data
on odonata, the scientific name for dragonflies and damselflies. Odonata
are easy to spot, often vividly colored and an important indicator group
of species reflecting environmental changes in freshwater biodiversity.

"Volunteer nature enthusiasts can greatly help to monitor the abundance of dragonflies and damselflies, iconic freshwater sentinels and one of the
few nonpollinator insect groups appreciated by the public and amenable
to citizen science," the scientists wrote in a paper published in the
journal BioScience.

Researchers propose modeling the volunteer network on a similar collection
of projects, organizations and individuals dedicated to butterflies. "The network has improved knowledge of not only butterfly geographical
distributions but also their relative population sizes across years and
the effects of large- scale environmental change," researchers wrote.

"We are hopeful that with similar efforts dedicated to odonata, great
strides can be made in our understanding of changes in their abundances
and distributions too. They really are amazing animals and fascinating
to observe," said Siepielski.

An odonata network would fill in gaps from areas of the world with little information, and incorporate existing data-collection efforts. Ideally, volunteers would collect data at a fixed location for 10 to 15 years,
and have a standardized portal to report their findings.

"An army of amateur naturalists may contribute far more data than a
small cadre of professional observers," the researchers wrote. "Citizen
science promotes biophilia while contributing enormously to understanding large-scale biodiversity loss and environmental change, especially in developing or transitioning regions."

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Arkansas. Original
written by Bob Whitby.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Jason Bried, Leslie Ries, Brenda Smith, Michael Patten, John
Abbott, Joan
Ball-Damerow, Robert Cannings, Adolfo Cordero-Rivera, Alex Co'rdoba-
Aguilar, Paulo De Marco, Klaas-Douwe Dijkstra, Ales Dolny', Roy
van Grunsven, David Halstead, Filip Harabis, Christopher Hassall,
Martin Jeanmougin, Colin Jones, Leandro Juen, Vincent Kalkman,
Gabriella Kietzka, Celeste Searles Mazzacano, Albert Orr, Mary
Ann Perron, Maya Rocha-Ortega, Go"ran Sahle'n, Michael Samways,
Adam Siepielski, John Simaika, Frank Suhling, Les Underhill,
Erin White. Towards Global Volunteer Monitoring of Odonate
Abundance. BioScience, 2020; DOI: 10.1093/biosci/biaa092 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200916131036.htm

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