Citizen science platforms can effectively support early detection of invasive alien species according to species traits

Abstract Early detection and rapid response are essential to deal effectively with new introductions of invasive alien species (IAS). Citizen science platforms for opportunistic recording of species are increasingly popular, and there is potential to harvest their data for early detection of IAS, but this has not been tested. We evaluated the potential of data from existing citizen science platforms for early detection of IAS by obtaining 687 first records of species from 30 European countries where there was both an official first record (i.e. published in scientific literature or by a government agency) and a record in a citizen science platform. We tested how the difference between the two (time lag) was related to species traits, popularity in citizen science platforms, public and research attention and regulatory status. We found that for 50% of the time lag records, citizen science platforms reported IAS earlier than or in the same year as the official databases. Although we cannot determine causality (the first official record could have been from a citizen science platform, or contemporaneous with it), this demonstrates that citizen science platforms are effective for IAS early detection. Time lags were largely affected by species traits. Compared with official records, vertebrates were more likely to have earlier records on citizen science platforms, than plants or invertebrates. Greater popularity of the IAS in citizen science platforms and its observation in neighbouring countries resulted in earlier citizen science reporting. In contrast, inclusion in the EU priority list resulted in earlier official recording, reflecting the efficacy of targeted surveillance programmes. However, time lags were not affected by the overall activity of citizen platforms per country. Synthesis and applications . Multi‐species citizen science platforms for reporting nature sightings are a valuable source of information on early detection of IAS even though they are not specifically designed for this purpose. We recommend that IAS surveillance programmes should be better connected with citizen science platforms, including greater acknowledgement of the role of citizen scientists and better data flow from smaller citizen science initiatives into global databases, to support efficient early detection. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
People and Nature
Published
2024-12-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10767
Citations
15
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
13.79

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Citizen science platforms can effectively support early detection of invasive alien species according to species traits

Franz Essl, Stephanie Rorke, Maarten de Groot, Michael J. O. Pocock et al.
15 citations
People and Nature
Species Distribution and Climate Change
13.79
article

Citizen science platforms can effectively support early detection of invasive alien species according to species traits

Franz Essl, Stephanie Rorke, Maarten de Groot, Michael J. O. Pocock, Marta López‐Darias, Sandro Bertolino, Elena Tricarico, Kristijn RR Swinnen, Joana R. Vicente, Philip Eric Hulme, Živa Fišer, Ana Anđelković, Rita Bastos, Milka Glavendekić, Jakovos Demetriou, Angeliki F. Martinou, Katharina Lapin, Celia López‐Cañizares, Tim Adriaens, Vanessa Lozano, Esra Per, Dimitra Katsada, Karl‐Manfred Schweinzer, Viola Jani, Helen Elizabeth Roy, Christophe Botella, Nicola La Porta, Periklis Kleitou, Marc Herremans, Damiano Oldoni, Pablo González‐Moreno
article en
15 citations

Abstract

Abstract Early detection and rapid response are essential to deal effectively with new introductions of invasive alien species (IAS). Citizen science platforms for opportunistic recording of species are increasingly popular, and there is potential to harvest their data for early detection of IAS, but this has not been tested. We evaluated the potential of data from existing citizen science platforms for early detection of IAS by obtaining 687 first records of species from 30 European countries where there was both an official first record (i.e. published in scientific literature or by a government agency) and a record in a citizen science platform. We tested how the difference between the two (time lag) was related to species traits, popularity in citizen science platforms, public and research attention and regulatory status. We found that for 50% of the time lag records, citizen science platforms reported IAS earlier than or in the same year as the official databases. Although we cannot determine causality (the first official record could have been from a citizen science platform, or contemporaneous with it), this demonstrates that citizen science platforms are effective for IAS early detection. Time lags were largely affected by species traits. Compared with official records, vertebrates were more likely to have earlier records on citizen science platforms, than plants or invertebrates. Greater popularity of the IAS in citizen science platforms and its observation in neighbouring countries resulted in earlier citizen science reporting. In contrast, inclusion in the EU priority list resulted in earlier official recording, reflecting the efficacy of targeted surveillance programmes. However, time lags were not affected by the overall activity of citizen platforms per country. Synthesis and applications . Multi‐species citizen science platforms for reporting nature sightings are a valuable source of information on early detection of IAS even though they are not specifically designed for this purpose. We recommend that IAS surveillance programmes should be better connected with citizen science platforms, including greater acknowledgement of the role of citizen scientists and better data flow from smaller citizen science initiatives into global databases, to support efficient early detection. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

People and NatureVol. 7(1)
Fondazione Edmund Mach (IT), University of Primorska (SI), University of Medicine Tirana (AL), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Vienna (AT), Cyprus Institute (CY), University of Sassari (IT), Universidade do Porto (PT), Lincoln University (NZ), Université de Montpellier (FR), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR), Research Institute for Nature and Forest (BE), University of Exeter (GB), Stellenbosch University (ZA), University of Belgrade (RS), Institute for Plant Protection and Environment (RS), Institute of Public Health (AL), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (GB), Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Robotique et de Microélectronique de Montpellier (FR), Slovenian Forestry Institute (SI), Instituto de Productos Naturales y Agrobiología (ES), Business Innovation Centre (IT), Austrian Research Centre for Forests (AT), University of Florence (IT), University of Córdoba (ES), University of Turin (IT), Universidad de Murcia (ES), Gazi University (TR)
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Sight Research UK, European Commission, European Cooperation in Science and Technology, Javna Agencija za Raziskovalno Dejavnost RS, Natural Environment Research Council, Agencia Estatal de Investigación
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
13.79
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.