A visual technique used by citizen scientists shows higher herbivory in understory vs. canopy leaves of a tropical forest
A visual technique used by citizen scientists shows higher herbivory in understory vs. canopy leaves of a tropical forest
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DOI：
10.1002/ecy.3539
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发表时间：
2021-11-14
期刊：
影响因子：
4.8
通讯作者：
Frost, Christopher J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Frost, Christopher J.
公民科学 (CS) 计划可以改变一些生态数据的收集方式。食草是一种基本的生态相互作用，但许多自然系统中的食草率尚不清楚，部分原因是缺乏监测人员。这限制了我们理解与草食相关的广泛生态模式的能力。幸运的是，用于评估食草动物的准确可靠的视觉估计技术可能适用于 CS 方法。 2008 年，我制定了一项 CS 培训计划（百万叶项目，MLP），根据去除叶面积 (LAR) 的七类视觉评估来测量草食性。从 2010 年到 2018 年，394 名公民科学家评估了 175,421 片叶子的损害，以检验秘鲁热带森林中林下和冠层叶子之间食草性不同的假设。为了支持这一假设，纵向 CS 数据显示，林下叶子平均比冠层叶子经历更多的草食性（18.3% vs. 12.3%，P < 0.001），无论 CS 观察者年龄如何，这种差异都是一致的。此外，尽管年轻的参与者表现出一些叶子选择偏差，但数据完整性很高。 MLP 基于一种简单的技术，旨在扩大公众对生态科学的参与，并适用于发生草食或叶子损害的任何生态系统。
Citizen science (CS) initiatives can transform how some ecological data are collected. Herbivory is a fundamental ecological interaction, but herbivory rates in many natural systems are unknown due in part to lack of personnel for monitoring efforts. This limits our ability to understand broad ecological patterns relevant to herbivory. Fortunately, accurate and reliable visual estimation techniques for assessing herbivory could be amenable to CS approaches. In 2008, I developed a CS training initiative (the Million Leaf Project, MLP) to measure herbivory based on a seven-category visual assessment of leaf area removed (LAR). From 2010 to 2018, 394 citizen scientists assessed damage on 175,421 leaves to test the hypothesis that herbivory varies between understory and canopy leaves in a Peruvian tropical forest. In support of this hypothesis, the longitudinal CS data reveal that understory leaves consistently experience more herbivory than do canopy leaves on average (18.3% vs. 12.3%, P < 0.001), a difference that was consistent regardless of CS observer age. Furthermore, data integrity was high, even though younger participants showed some leaf selection bias. The MLP is based on a simple technique, intended to broaden public participation in ecological science, and applicable to any ecological system in which herbivory or leaf damage occurs.