Citizen science and the ecology of urban mammals and birds

与鸟类等群体相比，英国的许多野生哺乳动物物种相对神秘，往往会避开人类，这使得它们很难有效地进行调查。除了难以评估哺乳动物种群的保护状况外，缺乏关于哺乳动物丰度时空变化的可靠数据，也阻碍了理解和管理哺乳动物种群对其他受保护物种或经济关切物种的影响。相机陷阱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他们当地的其他地区安装摄像头陷阱。通过在线平台(www.maMalweb.org)向志愿者提供图像，并对其进行协作分类，以提供物种发生和活动的信息。这项措施有可能大大加强我们对其哺乳动物种群的了解。花园是最方便和最直接的栖息地之一，市民可以在其中一个地方操作相机陷阱。此外，城市栖息地的哺乳动物种群很有趣，这既是因为它们本身的权利，也是因为它们与其他物种和人类的互动。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地可以作为野生动物的重要资源--甚至是避难所。一些以花园为基础的公民科学倡议已经招募了公众来监测某些分类群的发生、丰度或活动。其中最大的一项是英国鸟类学信托基金(BTO)的花园鸟类观察(GBW)，这是一项有大约12,000名志愿者参与的调查，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，花园觅食对鸟类种群和群落有重大影响，但仍有更多需要了解，特别是关于哺乳动物，它们如何与鸟类群落互动，以及花园管理如何对野生动物产生影响。许多哺乳动物从花园的补充喂养中受益，或者可以从垃圾中获得补充食物，导致狐狸等物种的数量增加，以及一些公众对安全的担忧。其他有魅力的物种，如刺猬，在农村地区也出现了戏剧性的下降，但城市人口可能正逆势而上。这个项目将把来自MamMalWeb和BTO GBW计划的数据以及BTO其他调查获得的数据联系起来，以提高我们对花园哺乳动物种群及其与其他物种互动的理解。在这样做的过程中，该项目将在MammarWeb内建立大空间范围内的监测能力。该项目的发现将与公民科学、哺乳动物监测、城市生态和景观保护管理等领域相关。

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.