Recording impacts of invasive species through citizen science: a pilot study

在全球和英国，外来入侵物种（IAS）持续增加，是生物多样性下降的主要驱动因素之一。为了促进管理和政策反应，其影响的证据对于风险评估、预防措施和资源分配至关重要。然而，对许多物种来说，影响的证据很少，也没有标准化的规程来收集。这个项目将采用一种新方法，测试公民科学是否可以成功地用于记录入侵植物的影响。与北威尔士野生动物信托基金会协调的当地行动小组现有志愿者网络合作，我们将培训并与威尔士各地的志愿者一起测试三种不同的记录标准，两种现场标准和一种将在智能手机应用程序中实施的数字标准。我们将在项目中专注于三个案例研究物种，但标准的设计将适用于未来的其他物种。此外，我们会在选定的地点和一小群参与者中，使用录音设备收集鸟类在入侵和非入侵栖息地的发生情况。我们的研究结果将为公民科学家如何参与记录外来入侵物种的影响提供指导，从而有助于填补入侵科学和政策支持方面的重要空白。此外，记录外来物种影响的标准化协议将支持管理优先级，对未来可能的入侵物种进行水平扫描，并对入侵物种在不同分类群和地区的影响进行比较分析。

Globally and in the UK, invasive alien species (IAS) continue to increase and are one of the main drivers of biodiversity decline. To facilitate management and policy responses, evidence of their impacts is crucial for risk assessment, prevention measures and resource allocation. However, evidence of impacts is scarce for many species and not collected with standardised protocols. This project will employ a novel approach by testing if citizen science could be successfully used for recording the impacts of invasive plants. In collaboration with an existing volunteer network of Local Action Groups coordinated by the North Wales Wildlife Trust we will train and work with volunteers across Wales to test three different kinds of recording standards, two field standards and one digital standard which will be implemented in a smartphone application. We will focus on three case study species in the project, but standards will be designed to be adaptable to other species in the future. In addition, in selected sites and with a smaller group of participants, we will use audio recorders to collect data on the occurrence of birds in invaded and non-invaded habitats. Our results will provide guidance on how citizen scientists can be involved in recording impacts of invasive alien species therefore helping to close an important gap both in invasion science as well as for policy support. Furthermore, the standardised protocols for recording impacts of alien species will support management prioritisation, horizon scanning for possible future invasive species and comparative analyses of invasive species impacts across taxa and regions.