Formerly considered rare, the ant species Cryptopone ochracea (Mayr, 1855) can be commonly detected using citizen-science tools

Báthori, Ferenc; Jégh, Tamás; Csősz, Sándor

doi:10.3897/bdj.10.e83117

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 34 publications

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“…All of these species were classified as rare, with nine of them listed as globally threatened and one as Near Threatened. This underscores the significant role that volunteer observations can play in capturing data on rare and globally threatened species (Báthori et al, 2022; Fontaine et al, 2022; Tiralongo et al, 2020). Our study identified certain grid cells that had a larger contribution from the CS subset than from the RI subset, especially in the Northeast (Figure 3).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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

Forti,

da Silva,

Ferreira

et al. 2024

Integrative Conservation

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Understanding the distribution of rare species is important for conservation prioritisation. Traditionally, museums and other research institutions have served as depositories for specimens and biodiversity information. However, estimating abundance from these sources is challenging due to spatiotemporally biased collection methods. For instance, large‐bodied reptiles that are found near research institutions or in popular, easily accessible sites tend to be overrepresented in collections compared to smaller species found in remote areas. Recently, a substantial number of observations have been amassed through citizen (or community) science initiatives, which are invaluable for monitoring purposes. Given the unstructured nature of this sampling, these datasets are often affected by biases, such as taxonomic, spatial and temporal preferences. Therefore, analysing data from these two sources can lead to different abundance estimates. This study compiled data on Brazilian reptile species from the Global Information Biodiversity Facility (GBIF). It employed a community‐ecology approach to analyse data from research institutions and citizen science initiatives, separately and collectively, to assess taxonomic and spatial species coverage and predict species rarity. Using a 1‐degree hexagonal grid, we analysed the spatial distribution of reptile communities and calculated rarity indices for 754 reptile species. Our findings reveal that 87 species were exclusively recorded in the citizen science subset, while 212 were recorded only by research institutions. The number of observations per species in the citizen science data followed a Gambin distribution, which aligns with the expected pattern of abundance in natural communities, unlike the data from research institutions. This suggests that citizen science data may be a more accurate source for estimating species abundance and rarity. The discrepancies in rarity classifications between the datasets were likely due to differences in sample size and potentially other sampling parameters. Nevertheless, combining data collected by both research institutions and citizen science initiatives can help to fill knowledge gaps in reptile species occurrence, thus enhancing the foundation for conservation efforts on a national scale.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

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

Forti,

da Silva,

Ferreira

et al. 2024

Integrative Conservation

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First Record of the Exotic Ant Hypoponera ergatandria in Italy: Indoor Alate Swarms and Stinging Queens

Schifani,

Pezzin,

Castracani

et al. 2024

Sociobiology

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Until recently, Hypoponera ergatandria was commonly misidentified as H. punctatissima, both of which are widespread tramp ant species. Today, H. ergatandria has been recorded in eleven European countries, while most existing H. punctatissima records are doubtful. Its geographic origins, like in the case of H. punctatissima, remain unclear. Here, we present the first record of H. ergatandria in Italy, which also hosts H. punctatissima. We report on a large swarm of alate queens from the basement of a building in the city of Teramo, Central Italy. As reported in Florida under the name H. punctatissima, the species seems capable of producing surprisingly large alate swarms, and alate queens can become a nuisance due to their stinging ability against humans. However, Hypoponera stings are not known to pose any public health threat. Furthermore, H. ergatandria and H. punctatissima are not known to have any ecological impact and are usually confined to a very scattered distribution in Europe.

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Contribution of the public to the modelling of the distributions of species: Occurrence and current and potential distribution of the ant Manica rubida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Krapf¹

2023

Eur. J. Entomol.

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Maps and models of the distributions of animals and plants are important for assessing their current and future status. Such models rely on information on the environment and occurrence of species. While data on the environment are often easily gathered that on the occurrence of species is often tedious and expensive to collect. An easy way to gather data on species occurrences is to use online platforms such as GBIF or iNaturalist, which rely on the public. This data can be used to produce maps and develop models of the distributions of various animals, such as ants. Even though there are a few in depth studies on the distributions of ant species, knowledge of the distribution and status of many species is lacking. One such species is the widespread ant Manica rubida, which is currently not included in the international Red List. Here, data on the occurrence of M. rubida recorded in online platforms, literature and collected during a fi eld survey were used to develop a map of its distribution and a species model, in order to evaluate its current status. A total of 611 occurrences were found and indicate that this species mainly occurs in the European Alps and other Eurasian mountain ranges. Records of most occurrences were obtained from online platforms and the number increased signifi cantly over the last two decades and indicate this species occurs over an altitudinal range of 3000 m. The species model revealed that there are potential areas of suitable habitat for M. rubida in the Pyrenees, European Uplands, Pindus Mountains, Balkan Mountains and Pontic mountains. Currently, M. rubida does not seem to be threatened by climate change, but it is recommended that the monitoring of its distribution should be continued. This study reveals that data from online platforms can provide the information necessary for developing species models, which can be used to assess the current status and estimate the potential eff ect of climate change on a species and plan conservation strategies.

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Formerly considered rare, the ant species Cryptopone ochracea (Mayr, 1855) can be commonly detected using citizen-science tools

Cited by 4 publications

References 34 publications

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

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

First Record of the Exotic Ant Hypoponera ergatandria in Italy: Indoor Alate Swarms and Stinging Queens

Contribution of the public to the modelling of the distributions of species: Occurrence and current and potential distribution of the ant Manica rubida (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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