The impact of data quality filtering of opportunistic citizen science data on species distribution model performance

Eupen, Camille Van; Maes, Dirk; Herremans, Marc; Swinnen, Kristijn R.R.; Somers, Ben; Luca, Stijn

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2021.109453

Cited by 36 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Usually, they take a picture, identify the animal species and provide the GPS coordinates of the roadkill ( Shilling et al, 2020 ). Although it is usually more difficult to analyze opportunistic data ( Planillo et al, 2021 ; Van Eupen et al, 2021 ), most projects have opted for this method, as the involvement of citizen scientists in opportunistic data collection offers many advantages. Through citizen science it is possible to sample a large geographical area ( Theobald et al, 2015 ), to bring new expertise into the project, and last but not least, provide opportunities for topical education and science communication ( e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decrease in reports on road-killed animals based on citizen science during COVID-19 lockdown

Dörler¹,

Heigl²

2021

PeerJ

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Background To avoid the uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in early 2020, many countries have implemented strict lockdown measures for several weeks. In Austria, the lockdown in early spring has led to a significant drop in human outdoor activities, especially in road traffic. In Project Roadkill, a citizen science project which aims to collect data on road-killed animals, we observed a significant decrease in reported roadkills. Methods By asking the citizen scientists through a survey how their travelling routines were affected, we investigated if the observed decrease in roadkills was grounded in less animals being killed by traffic, or in citizen scientists staying at home and thus reporting less road-killed animals. Results A majority of the respondents stated that they felt to have reported less roadkills during the lockdown, regardless if they changed their travelling routine or not. This observation in combination with the overall decrease in road traffic indicates that fewer animals were killed during the lockdown. We conclude that when analyzing citizen science data, the effects of lockdown measures on reporting behaviour should be considered, because they can significantly affect data and interpretation of these data.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A decrease in reports on road-killed animals based on citizen science during COVID-19 lockdown

Dörler¹,

Heigl²

2021

PeerJ

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“…For experienced users, there are options to upload and add more details to an existing observation by using the website or the app ObsMapp. This leads to a higher value of observations, as biodiversity data gathered by citizen scientists are often too undetailed to perform comprehensive analysis and to make well-founded predictions or conclusions (Van Eupen et al 2021). It would be worth considering implementing these additional options in ObsIden tify while keeping the layout user-friendly, like an optional "advanced mode".…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Obs-Services and their potentials for biodiversity data assessments with a test of the current reliability of photo-identification of Coleoptera in the field

Molls

2021

Tijdschr. Entomol.

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The current reliability of species identifications by the Nature Identification API (NIA) of the app ObsIdentify is tested with a Coleoptera (Insecta) sample set from Germany. Seventy-five photographic beetle records taken with a smartphone camera under “average user” conditions are analysed in terms of correctness of the app’s identification result on various taxonomic levels, the displayed confidence level of the identification and the time until validation of the results. More than 60% of samples were identified correctly at the species level, but only 53% were validated within a month. The mechanisms by which users can upload pictures of their observations to be identified by the artificial intelligence and the validation process by experts are briefly explained. Regional specifics and further opportunities for data usage as well as currently existing problems are discussed and improvements are suggested. The expert validation of records is identified as a huge quality advantage of the Obs-Services. They are generally found to be a promising tool for lay people and professional institutions, despite still existing deficiencies such as identification failure in mutilated specimens, cryptic and rare species, doubtful species rarity ratings as well as the still insufficient capacity of validation. Experts and institutions are encouraged to volunteer as validators and collaborators.

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“…Yet, it contains a greater number of records that have the potential to cover a large number of species at a fine-scale, over potentially long periods, and over large geographical areas, including places outside forest areas (Kosmala, Wiggins, Swanson, & Simmons, 2016). Since the quantity and extent of this data can never be reached by systematic surveys, opportunistic data can make a valuable contribution to science if proc essed correctly (Giraud, Calenge, Coron, & Julliard, 2016;Soroye, Ahmed, & Kerr, 2018;Steen, Elphick, & Tingley, 2019;Van Eupen et al, 2021). However, the literature lacks studies that focus on plant taxa and combine both types of datasets to explicitly explore tree distributions in relation to the pattern of urbanization.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping abundance distributions of allergenic tree species in urbanized landscapes: A nation-wide study for Belgium using forest inventory and citizen science data

Dujardin

Stas

Eupen

et al. 2022

Landscape and Urban Planning

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The impact of data quality filtering of opportunistic citizen science data on species distribution model performance

Cited by 36 publications

References 66 publications

A decrease in reports on road-killed animals based on citizen science during COVID-19 lockdown

A decrease in reports on road-killed animals based on citizen science during COVID-19 lockdown

The Obs-Services and their potentials for biodiversity data assessments with a test of the current reliability of photo-identification of Coleoptera in the field

Mapping abundance distributions of allergenic tree species in urbanized landscapes: A nation-wide study for Belgium using forest inventory and citizen science data

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