Dataset Information

Mapping species distributions: a comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording.

ABSTRACT: To assess the ability of traditional biological recording schemes and lay citizen science approaches to gather data on species distributions and changes therein, we examined bumblebee records from the UK's national repository (National Biodiversity Network) and from BeeWatch. The two recording approaches revealed similar relative abundances of bumblebee species but different geographical distributions. For the widespread common carder (Bombus pascuorum), traditional recording scheme data were patchy, both spatially and temporally, reflecting active record centre rather than species distribution. Lay citizen science records displayed more extensive geographic coverage, reflecting human population density, thus offering better opportunities to account for recording effort. For the rapidly spreading tree bumblebee (Bombus hypnorum), both recording approaches revealed similar distributions due to a dedicated mapping project which overcame the patchy nature of naturalist records. We recommend, where possible, complementing skilled naturalist recording with lay citizen science programmes to obtain a nation-wide capability, and stress the need for timely uploading of data to the national repository.

SUBMITTER: van der Wal R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4623864 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mapping species distributions: a comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording.

van der Wal René R Anderson Helen H Robinson Annie A Sharma Nirwan N Mellish Chris C Roberts Stuart S Darvill Ben B Siddharthan Advaith A

Ambio 20151101

To assess the ability of traditional biological recording schemes and lay citizen science approaches to gather data on species distributions and changes therein, we examined bumblebee records from the UK's national repository (National Biodiversity Network) and from BeeWatch. The two recording approaches revealed similar relative abundances of bumblebee species but different geographical distributions. For the widespread common carder (Bombus pascuorum), traditional recording scheme data were pa ...[more]

PMID: 26508346

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Dataset Information

Mapping species distributions: a comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording.

Publications

Mapping species distributions: a comparison of skilled naturalist and lay citizen science recording.

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