Community science for enigmatic ecosystems: using eBird to assess avian biodiversity on glaciers and snowfields

Abstract

Mountain glaciers and snowfields are rapidly receding because of climate warming. Species living in these habitats remain poorly studied, likely because of the remoteness and ruggedness of their terrain. We leveraged community science data from eBirdan online database of bird observations from around the world-to characterize bird use of mountain glaciers and snowfields. We estimated total bird biodiversity and preference for glaciers and snowfields over nearby, ice-adjacent habitats. We used field notes from eBird users and breeding codes to extend our data set to include insight into habitat usage and behavior. Finally, we compared our community-science approach to previous studies that used traditional (i.e., professional) field survey methods. We identified considerable avian biodiversity in glacier and snowfield habitat (46 species) with four specialists that appeared to prefer glaciers and snowfields over nearby, ice-adjacent habitats. Birds appeared to primarily use the glacier and snowfield habitats for foraging. When community science data was compared to traditional methods, results were similar, but community science resulted in a higher species diversity estimate. Our findings suggest glacier and snowfield retreat threatens specialist species via loss of nutrient resources. Additionally, community science data appears valuable for characterizing difficult to access areas, but traditional surveys are still useful for more rigorous quantification of avian biodiversity.RESUMEN. Glaciales de montaña y campos de nieve están retrocediendo rápidamente por causa del calentamiento climático. Las especies que viven en estos hábitats aún son poco estudiadas, probablemente por ser lugares remotos y tener terreno rugoso. Aprovechamos los datos de la ciencia comunitaria de eBird-una base de datos en línea de las observaciones de aves alrededor del mundo-para caracterizar el uso de los glaciares de montaña y campos de nieve por aves. Estimamos la biodiversidad total de aves y la preferencia por glaciares y campos de nieve cercanos sobre los hábitats adyacentes al hielo. Utilizamos las notas de campo de usuarios de eBird y códigos de reproducción para extender nuestro conjunto de datos e incluir conocimiento sobre el uso del hábitat y comportamiento. Finalmente comparamos nuestra aproximación basada en la ciencia comunitaria con estudios previos que usaron métodos de estudio de campo tradicionales (i.e. profesionales). Identificamos una biodiversidad de aves considerable en hábitats glaciales y campos de nieve (46 especies) con cuatro especies especialistas que aparentemente prefirieron glaciales y campos de nieve sobre hábitats adyacentes al hielo. Las aves aparentemente utilizan hábitats glaciales y campos de nieve principalmente para forrajear. Cuando comparamos los datos de la ciencia comunitaria con los de los métodos tradicionales, los resultados fueron similares, pero la ciencia comunitaria resulto en una diversidad más alta de especies estimadas. Nuestros resultados sugieren que el retroceso de los glaciales ...

The implications of estimating rarity in Brazilian reptiles from GBIF data based on contributions from citizen science versus research institutions

“…Spatial gaps are primarily located in the Amazon Basin, where increased research effort is required to improve our understanding of species abundance and distribution patterns. These regions should be prioritised for attention by academic experts, and the involvement of organised citizen‐science initiatives could contribute to filling these gaps (Brooks et al, 2023). An integrated approach that combines the efforts of professionals and volunteers in structured projects (including a programme for training citizens) could result in a highly effective strategy for increasing data availability in these under‐researched regions (Callaghan et al, 2019).…”

Lost at sea: interference with navigational senses and failed social route learning may drive offshore vagrancy in passerines

“…I additionally calculated spherical distance of each record from shore in km. eBird checklists hold valuable descriptive data entered by users including various descriptive tags and a free text eld where users may enter their comments (40,41). I extracted keywords from eld descriptions and age tags to determine the relative proportion of adults and juveniles offshore.…”