Citizen science and the ecology of urban mammals and birds

公民科学与城市哺乳动物和鸟类的生态

• 批准号: 2893303
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Durham University
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2893303
• 关键词: Citizen; science; ecology; urban; mammals

Compared with groups like birds, many wild mammal species in Britain are relatively cryptic and tend to avoid humans, making them difficult to survey effectively. As well as making it difficult to assess the conservation status of mammal populations, lack of reliable data on spatial and temporal variation in mammal abundance presents an obstacle to understanding and managing impacts of mammal populations on other species of conservation or economic concern. Camera traps can be an effective means of collecting data on mammal presence and activity. The MammalWeb scheme enlists members of the public to deploy camera traps in their gardens or other areas local to them. Images are made available to volunteers via an online platform (www.mammalweb.org) and collaboratively classified to provide information on species occurrence and activity. This initiative has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of its mammal populations.Gardens represent one of the most convenient and straightforward habitats in which members of the public can operate camera traps. Additionally, mammal populations in urban habitats are interesting, both in their own right and because of their interactions with other species and with people. While urban habitats are typically associated with reduced biodiversity, urban gardens and other green spaces can serve as significant resources - or even refugia - for wildlife. A number of garden-based citizen science initiatives already enlist members of the public to monitor the occurrence, abundance or activity of certain taxa. One of the largest of these is the British Trust for Ornithology's (BTO) Garden Bird Watch (GBW), a survey with approximately 12,000 volunteers, who regularly submit records of birds and, increasingly, mammals observed in their gardens. The data from birds have shown, for example, significant impacts of garden feeding on bird populations and communities, but there is still much more to understand, particularly in relation to the mammals and how these interact with the bird communities, as well as how the management of gardens impacts upon wildlife. Many mammals benefit from supplemental feeding in gardens, or can access supplemental food from refuse, leading to increases in numbers of species such as foxes and some public concerns over safety. Other charismatic species such as hedgehogs have seen dramatic declines in rural areas, but urban populations may be bucking the trend.This project will link data from MammalWeb and the BTO GBW scheme, as well as those available from other BTO surveys, to improve our understanding of garden-based mammal populations and their interactions with other species. In doing so the project will build capacity within MammalWeb for monitoring over large spatial scales. The findings of the project will have relevance for the fields of citizen science, mammal monitoring, urban ecology and landscape-level conservation management.

与鸟类等群体相比，英国的许多野生哺乳动物物种相对隐蔽，往往避开人类，因此难以进行有效调查。除了难以评估哺乳动物种群的保护状况外，缺乏有关哺乳动物丰度时空变化的可靠数据也为理解和管理哺乳动物种群对其他保护物种或经济关注物种的影响造成了障碍。相机陷阱可以是收集哺乳动物存在和活动数据的有效手段。 MammalWeb 计划招募公众在他们的花园或当地其他区域部署相机陷阱。图像通过在线平台（www.mammalweb.org）提供给志愿者，并进行协作分类，以提供有关物种发生和活动的信息。这一举措有可能大大增强我们对其哺乳动物种群的了解。花园是公众可以操作相机陷阱的最方便、最直接的栖息地之一。此外，城市栖息地中的哺乳动物种群也很有趣，不仅因为它们本身，而且因为它们与其他物种和人类的相互作用。虽然城市栖息地通常与生物多样性减少有关，但城市花园和其他绿色空间可以作为野生动物的重要资源，甚至是避难所。许多基于花园的公民科学倡议已经招募公众来监测某些类群的出现、丰度或活动。其中规模最大的项目之一是英国鸟类学基金会 (BTO) 的花园鸟类观察 (GBW)，这项调查约有 12,000 名志愿者，他们定期提交在花园中观察到的鸟类和越来越多的哺乳动物的记录。例如，来自鸟类的数据表明，花园喂养对鸟类种群和群落产生重大影响，但仍有更多需要了解，特别是与哺乳动物有关的信息，以及它们如何与鸟类群落相互作用，以及花园管理如何影响野生动物。许多哺乳动物受益于花园中的补充喂养，或者可以从垃圾中获取补充食物，导致狐狸等物种数量的增加以及一些公众对安全的担忧。其他有魅力的物种，如刺猬，在农村地区的数量急剧减少，但城市人口可能正在逆势而上。该项目将把来自 MammalWeb 和 BTO GBW 计划的数据以及其他 BTO 调查提供的数据联系起来，以提高我们对花园哺乳动物种群及其与其他物种相互作用的了解。在此过程中，该项目将在 MammalWeb 内建立监测大空间尺度的能力。该项目的研究结果将与公民科学、哺乳动物监测、城市生态和景观保护管理等领域相关。