Evolution MegaLab: a case study in citizen science methods
Evolution MegaLab: a case study in citizen science methods
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DOI：
10.1111/j.2041-210x.2011.00164.x
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发表时间：
2012-04-01
影响因子：
6.6
通讯作者：
Skelton, Peter
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Worthington, Jenny P.;Silvertown, Jonathan;Skelton, Peter
1.几十年来，志愿者一直在帮助对鸟类和其他生物进行科学调查，但最近，互联网的使用极大地拓宽了公民科学的机会，并大大增加了其实践。现在有必要分享哪些方法有效、哪些方法无效的经验。在这里，我们描述了我们如何计划和执行的进化MegaLab，迄今为止进行的最大的野生物种多态性调查之一。2.进化大型实验室的目的是利用2009年查尔斯达尔文诞辰两个百年的机会，动员欧洲尽可能广泛的公众，帮助调查带状蜗牛Cepaea nemoralis和Cepaea hortensis的外壳多态性。然后将这些数据与历史记录进行比较，以检测样本之间几十年可能发生的进化变化。3.从已发表和未发表的来源中捕获了这两个物种在整个自然分布区采样的7000多个种群的多态性记录，并将其添加到在线数据库中。公众可通过项目网站（http：//evolutionmegalab. org）的网站。该网站包含一个欢迎页面，解释了什么是进化，以及最近的气候变化，以及大量的食肉鸟类（歌鸫Turdus philomelos）可能导致了带状蜗牛外壳模式的进化变化。4.在15个欧洲国家建立了一个合作者网络，每个国家负责翻译网站和相关材料，招募志愿人员，并在当地筹集所需资金。共有6461名用户注册了该网站，并提交了7629条记录。我们使用在线测验来训练用户并测试他们的能力，以识别正确的蜗牛及其变体。每个用户都会收到自动的即时反馈，将他们的数据与历史数据库中的附近记录进行比较。5. EvolutionMegaLab完成的任何公民科学项目都必须解决的关键任务如下：（i）设计适当的项目，（ii）招募，激励和培训志愿者，以及（iii）确保数据质量。
1. Volunteers have helped in scientific surveys of birds and other organisms for decades, but more recently, the use of the Internet has enormously widened the opportunity for citizen science and greatly increased its practice. There is now a need to share experience of which methods work and which do not. Here, we describe how we planned and executed the Evolution MegaLab, one of the largest surveys of polymorphism in wild species so far undertaken. 2. The aim of the Evolution MegaLab was to exploit the occasion of Charles Darwin's double centenary in 2009 to mobilize the widest possible section of the general public in Europe to help survey shell polymorphism in the banded snails Cepaea nemoralis and Cepaea hortensis. These data were then compared with historical records to detect evolutionary change that may have taken place in the decades between samples. 3. Records of polymorphism in over 7000 populations sampled throughout the natural range of the two species were captured frompublished and unpublished sources and added to an online database. These data could be explored by the general public via a Google Maps interface on the project website (http:// evolutionmegalab. org). The website contained a welcome page that explained what evolution is and how recent changes in climate, and the abundance of predatory birds (song thrushes Turdus philomelos) might have caused an evolutionary change in the shell patterns of banded snails. 4. A network of collaborators in 15 European countries was formed, with each country responsible for translating the website and associated materials, recruiting volunteers and raising any funds required locally. A total of 6461 users registered with the site, and 7629 records were submitted. We used an online quiz to train users and to test their ability, to recognize the correct snails and their morphs. Every user received automated, immediate feedback that compared their data with nearby records fromthe historical database. 5. The critical tasks achieved by the EvolutionMegaLab that any citizen science projectmust tackle are as follows: (i) design of an appropriate project, (ii) recruitment, motivation and training of volunteers, and (iii) ensuring data quality.