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相对隐秘，往往会避开人类，这使得对它们的有效调查变得困难。缺乏可靠的哺乳动物丰度时空变化数据，不仅给评估哺乳动物种群的保护状况带来了困难，也给理解和管理哺乳动物种群对其他物种的保护或经济影响带来了障碍。相机陷阱是收集哺乳动物存在和活动数据的有效手段。“哺乳网”计划邀请市民在自家花园或附近其他地方设置摄像头。志愿者可以通过在线平台（www.mammalweb.org）获得图像，并通过协作分类提供有关物种发生和活动的信息。这一举措有可能大大提高我们对其哺乳动物种群的了解。花园是最方便和直接的生境之一，市民可以在其中操作相机陷阱。此外，城市栖息地的哺乳动物种群很有趣，不仅因为它们自己的权利，还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成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计划已经招募公众成员来监测某些分类群的发生、数量或活动。其中最大的一个是英国鸟类学信托基金会（BTO）的花园鸟类观察（GBW），这是一项由大约12000名志愿者组成的调查，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，来自鸟类的数据显示，花园喂养对鸟类种群和群落产生了重大影响，但仍有很多需要了解的，特别是与哺乳动物以及它们如何与鸟类群落相互作用的关系，以及花园管理对野生动物的影响。许多哺乳动物受益于花园的补充喂养，或者可以从垃圾中获取补充食物，这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下降，但城市人口可能会逆势而上。该项目将把哺乳动物网站和BTO GBW计划的数据以及其他BTO调查的数据联系起来，以提高我们对园地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内部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、城市生态学和景观一级保护管理等领域有关。

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.