Supporting genetics in primary care: investigating how theory can inform professional education

Evidence indicates that many barriers exist to the integration of genetic case finding into primary care. We conducted an exploratory study of the determinants of three specific behaviours related to using breast cancer genetics referral guidelines effectively: 'taking a family history', 'making a risk assessment', and 'making a referral decision'. We developed vignettes of primary care consultations with hypothetical patients, representing a wide range of genetic risk for which different referral decisions would be appropriate. We used the Theory of Planned Behavior to develop a survey instrument to capture data on behavioural intention and its predictors (attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control) for each of the three behaviours and mailed it to a sample of Canadian family physicians. We used correlation and regression analyses to explore the relationships between predictor and dependent variables. The response rate was 96/125 (77%). The predictor variables explained 38-83% of the variance in intention across the three behaviours. Family physicians' intentions were lower for 'making a risk assessment' (perceived as the most difficult) than for the other two behaviours. We illustrate how understanding psychological factors salient to behaviour can be used to tailor professional educational interventions; for example, considering the approach of behavioural rehearsal to improve confidence in skills (perceived behavioural control), or vicarious reinforcement as where participants are sceptical that genetics is consistent with their role (subjective norm)

Citizen science: a new approach to advance ecology, education, and conservation

Citizen science has a long history in the ecological sciences and has made substantial contributions to science, education, and society. Developments in information technology during the last few decades have created new opportunities for citizen science to engage ever larger audiences of volunteers to help address some of ecology’s most pressing issues, such as global environmental change. Using online tools, volunteers can find projects that match their interests and learn the skills and protocols required to develop questions, collect data, submit data, and help process and analyze data online. Citizen science has become increasingly important for its ability to engage large numbers of volunteers to generate observations at scales or resolutions unattainable by individual researchers. As a coupled natural and human approach, citizen science can also help researchers access local knowledge and implement conservation projects that might be impossible otherwise. In Japan, however, the value of citizen science to science and society is still underappreciated. Here we present case studies of citizen science in Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and describe how citizen science is used to tackle key questions in ecology and conservation, including spatial and macro-ecology, management of threatened and invasive species, and monitoring of biodiversity. We also discuss the importance of data quality, volunteer recruitment, program evaluation, and the integration of science and human systems in citizen science projects. Finally, we outline some of the primary challenges facing citizen science and its future.Dr. Janis L. Dickinson was the keynote speaker at the international symposium at the 61th annual meeting of the Ecological Society of Japan. We appreciate the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in Japan for providing grant to Hiromi Kobori (25282044). Tatsuya Amano is financially supported by the European Commission’s Marie Curie International Incoming Fellowship Programme (PIIF-GA-2011- 303221). The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the funding agencies or the Department of the Interior or the US Government.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1314-

The Biological Records Centre: a pioneer of citizen science

People have been recording wildlife for centuries and the resulting datasets lead to important scientific research. The Biological Records Centre (BRC), established in 1964, is a national focus for terrestrial and freshwater species recording in the United Kingdom (UK). BRC works with the voluntary recording community (i.e. a mutualistic symbiosis) through support of national recording schemes (i.e. ‘citizen science’, but unlike most citizen science it is volunteer led) and adds value to the data through analysis and reporting. Biological recording represents a diverse range of activities, involving an estimated 70 000 people annually in the UK, from expert volunteers undertaking systematic monitoring to mass participation recording. It is an invaluable monitoring tool because the datasets are long term, have large geographic extent and are taxonomically diverse (85 taxonomic groups). It supports a diverse range of outputs, e.g. atlases showing national distributions (12 127 species from over 40 taxonomic groups) and quantified trends (1636 species). BRC pioneers the use of technology for data capture (online portals and smartphone apps) and verification (including automated verification) through customisable, inter-operable database systems to facilitate efficient data flow. We are confident that biological recording has a bright future with benefits for people, science, and nature

Local Extinction in the Bird Assemblage in the Greater Beijing Area from 1877 to 2006

Recent growth in industrialization and the modernization of agricultural activities, combined with human population growth, has greatly modified China’s natural environment, particularly in the vicinity of large cities. We compared avifauna checklists made between 1877 and 1938 with current checklists to determine the extent of local bird extinctions during the last century in the greater Beijing area. Our study shows that of the 411 bird species recorded from 1877–1938, 45 (10.9%) were no longer recorded from 2004–2006. Birds recorded as ‘rare’ in 1938 were more likely to have disappeared in subsequent years. Migrant status also influenced the probability of local bird extinction with winter migrants being the most affected class. Moreover, larger birds were more likely to have disappeared than smaller ones, potentially explained by differential ecological requirements and anthropogenic exploitation. Although our habitat descriptions and diet classification were not predictors of local bird extinction, the ecological processes driving local bird extinction are discussed in the light of historical changes that have impacted this region since the end of the 1930 s. Our results are of importance to the broader conservation of bird wildlife

nestling growth rates in wild birds receiving supplementary insect prey

Data are for a manuscript examining growth rates in eastern bluebird and black-capped chickadee nestlings in nests supplemented with 10 g mealworms per day vs. control nests

Does getting the worm help the breeding bird? Supplemental feeding increases nestling growth in some taxa but not others

Data are for a manuscript examining growth rates in eastern bluebird and black-capped chickadee nestlings in nests supplemented with 10 g mealworms per day vs. control nests

Project FeederWatch Raw Data

Project FeederWatch is a citizen science project operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. Since 1988, "FeederWatchers" (members of the public) have been following a standardized protocol for observing and reporting birds that visit supplemental feeding stations (bird feeders) in the US and Canada. This data set contains raw data submitted to Project FeederWatch. The data are intended to be completely open access and we encourage researchers to utilize the information. The "FeederWatch Data Dictionary" file included with this dataset is critical for understanding fields and their contents. The dataset contains millions of records from > 60,000 count locations (as of 2020). Details about Project FeederWatch can be found on the project website: www.feederwatch.org. The dataset is scheduled for updates annually on or about June 1. The most up-to-date data files are on the FeederWatch web site here: https://feederwatch.org/explore/raw-dataset-requests

Project FeederWatch Raw Data

Project FeederWatch is a citizen science project operated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada. Since 1988, "FeederWatchers" (members of the public) have been following a standardized protocol for observing and reporting birds that visit supplemental feeding stations (bird feeders) in the US and Canada. This data set contains raw data submitted to Project FeederWatch. The data are intended to be completely open access and we encourage researchers to utilize the information. The "FeederWatch Data Dictionary" file included with this dataset is critical for understanding fields and their contents. The dataset contains millions of records from > 60,000 count locations (as of 2020). Details about Project FeederWatch can be found on the project website: www.feederwatch.org. The dataset is scheduled for updates annually on or about June 1. The most up-to-date data files are on the FeederWatch web site here: https://feederwatch.org/explore/raw-dataset-requests