Context Matters: Accounting for Item Features in the Assessment of Citizen Scientists’ Scientific Reasoning Skills

Citizen science (CS) projects engage citizens for research purposes and promote individual learning outcomes such as scientific reasoning (SR) skills. SR refers to participants’ skills to solve problems scientifically. However, the evaluation of CS projects’ effects on learning outcomes has suffered from a lack of assessment instruments and resources. Assessments of SR have most often been validated in the context of formal education. They do not contextualize items to be authentic or to represent a wide variety of disciplines and contexts in CS research. Here, we describe the development of an assessment instrument that can be flexibly adapted to different CS research contexts. Furthermore, we show that this assessment instrument, the SR questionnaire, provides valid conclusions about participants’ SR skills. We found that the deep-structure and surface features of the items in the SR questionnaire represent the thinking processes associated with SR to a substantial extent. We suggest that practitioners and researchers consider these item features in future adaptations of the SR questionnaire. This will most likely enable them to draw valid conclusions about participants’ SR skills and to gain a deeper understanding of participants’ SR skills in CS project evaluation

Clean and Green Urban Water Bodies Benefit Nocturnal Flying Insects and Their Predators, Insectivorous Bats

Nocturnal arthropods form the prey base for many predators and are an integral part of complex food webs. However, there is limited understanding of the mechanisms influencing invertebrates at urban water bodies and the potential flow-on effects to their predators. This study aims to: (i) understand the importance of standing water bodies for nocturnal flying insect orders, including the landscape- and local-scale factors driving these patterns; and (ii) quantify the relationship between insects and insectivorous bats. We investigated nocturnal flying insects and insectivorous bats simultaneously at water bodies (n = 58) and non-water body sites (n = 35) using light traps and acoustic recorders in Melbourne, Australia. At the landscape scale, we found that the presence of water and high levels of surrounding greenness were important predictors for some insect orders. At the water body scale, low levels of sediment pollutants, increased riparian tree cover and water body size supported higher insect order richness and a greater abundance of Coleopterans and Trichopterans, respectively. Most bat species had a positive response to a high abundance of Lepidopterans, confirming the importance of this order in the diet of insectivorous bats. Fostering communities of nocturnal insects in urban environments can provide opportunities for enhancing the prey base of urban nocturnal insectivores.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Tree Cover Mediates the Effect of Artificial Light on Urban Bats

With urban areas growing worldwide, so does artificial light at night (ALAN) which negatively affects many nocturnal animals, including bats. The response of bats to ALAN ranges from some opportunistic species taking advantage of insect aggregations around street lamps, particularly those emitting ultraviolet (UV) light, to others avoiding lit areas at all. Tree cover has been suggested to mitigate the negative effects of ALAN on bats by shielding areas against light scatter. Here, we investigated the effect of tree cover on the relationship between ALAN and bats in Berlin, Germany. In particular, we asked if this interaction varies with the UV light spectrum of street lamps and also across urban bat species. We expected trees next to street lamps to block ALAN, making the adjacent habitat more suitable for all species, irrespective of the wavelength spectrum of the light source. Additionally, we expected UV emitting lights next to trees to attract insects and thus, opportunistic bats. In summer 2017, we recorded bat activity at 22 green open spaces in Berlin using automated ultrasonic detectors. We analyzed bat activity patterns and landscape variables (number of street lamps with and without UV light emission, an estimate of light pollution, and tree cover density around each recording site within different spatial scales) using generalized linear mixed-effects models with a negative binomial distribution. We found a species-specific response of bats to street lamps with and without UV light, providing a more detailed picture of ALAN impacts than simply total light radiance. Moreover, we found that dense tree cover dampened the negative effect of street lamps without UV for open-space foraging bats of the genera Nyctalus, Eptesicus, and Vespertilio, yet it amplified the already existing negative or positive effect of street lamps with or without UV on Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, and Myotis spp. Our study underpins the importance of minimizing artificial light at night close to vegetation, particularly for bats adapted to spatial complexity in the environment (i.e., clutter-adapted species), and to increase dense vegetation in urban landscape to provide, besides roosting opportunities, protection against ALAN for open-space foraging bats in city landscapes.BMBF, 01LC1501, BIBS-Verbund: Bridging in Biodiversity Science (BIBS

The human dimensions of a green–green-dilemma:​ Lessons learned from the wind energy — wildlife conflict in Germany

Green–green dilemmas are particularly challenging since they involve two desirable goals, yet with detrimental counter-effects. Although wind energy production is to some desirable as a form of renewable energy for reducing global CO2 emission, it conflicts with conservation goals when airborne animals die during collisions. Yet, protecting species with high collision risk may prevent to some extent the deployment of wind turbines or involve altered operation schemes with lowered energy production, two constraints impairing the development of wind energy production. Stakeholders involved in wind turbine projects discuss this dilemma not only based on their knowledge and interests, but also on their thoughts and emotions about wind turbines or affected animals such as bats. We studied some of these cognitions and emotions of stakeholders involved in the local realization of wind turbine projects (e.g. planning or authorization) to shed light on fundamental aspects of disagreements. We undertook a self-administered online survey (n=537 respondents) with six stakeholder groups from the wind energy and conservation sector to understand i) their value orientations, beliefs and emotions, the predictive potential of ii) value orientations, beliefs, emotions on trust as well as iii) trust among and in stakeholders involved in decision making processes. We observed that beliefs about the importance of wind turbines and emotions towards wind turbines differed across stakeholders while emotions towards bats were generally positive. Overall, stakeholders had low trust in each other. Representatives from the wind energy sector had more trust in politicians compared to conservationists. Trust was most strongly influenced by beliefs about the importance of wind turbines. Beliefs about the importance of wind turbines were in turn most strongly influenced by emotions towards bats and wind turbines. We argue that awareness of different beliefs and emotions among stakeholders should be acknowledged in this apparent conflict to foster trust among stakeholders.DFG, 414044773, Open Access Publizieren 2019 - 2020 / Technische Universität Berli

Conservation leadership must account for cultural differences

Effective leaders are critical in determining successful outcomes of conservation programs. As the business and economic leadership literature shows, awareness around cultural differences in leadership attributes is important for positive project outcomes set in inter-cultural contexts. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to understand whether, and how, the influence of cultural context was acknowledged when describing successful leadership attributes of conservation leadership. We found fifteen papers from different geographical regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America) explicitly addressing conservation leadership attributes. We further explored how characteristics of four key attributes (i.e. motivating others, establishing a shared vision, effective communication and partnership building) were addressed within these different cultural settings. Our review shows that the discourse on how culture influences attributes of a conservation leader and its implications for conservation outcomes is very limited. Awareness and sensitivity around this influence is important as cultural differences may either facilitate or hinder conservation project outcomes, particularly when people from different cultural backgrounds work together

Improving attitudes and knowledge in a citizen science project about urban bat ecology

In order to deal with the current, dramatic decline in biodiversity, the public at large needs to be aware of and participate in biodiversity research activities. One way to do this is citizen science projects, in which researchers collaborate with volunteering citizens in scientific research. However, it remains unclear whether engaging in such projects has an impact on the learning outcomes of volunteers. Previous research has so far presented mixed results on the improvement of citizens’ attitudes and knowledge, mostly because such research has focused only on single aspects of citizen science projects in case studies. To address these limitations, we investigated the impact of an urban bat ecology project on citizens’ attitudes and knowledge about bats, and on their engagement with citizen science. We also examined whether the degree of citizen participation (i.e., collecting data vs. collecting and analyzing data) had an influence on the outcomes. We conducted four field studies and used a survey-based, experimental, pre-/post-measurement design. To vary the degree of participation, we assessed the post measurement in one group directly after data collection, whereas, in a second group, we assessed it after data collection and analysis, at the end of the project. Across all studies, the results demonstrated that citizens’ content knowledge of urban bat ecology increased, and their attitudes toward bats and toward their engagement in citizen science improved during their participation. Citizens’ degrees of participation did not influence these outcomes. Thus, our research illustrates that citizen science can increase awareness of urban bat conservation, independently of citizens’ degree of participation. We discuss the implications of our findings for the citizen science community. © 2022 by the author(s)

Tree Cover Mediates the Effect of Artificial Light on Urban Bats

With urban areas growing worldwide, so does artificial light at night (ALAN) which negatively affects many nocturnal animals, including bats. The response of bats to ALAN ranges from some opportunistic species taking advantage of insect aggregations around street lamps, particularly those emitting ultraviolet (UV) light, to others avoiding lit areas at all. Tree cover has been suggested to mitigate the negative effects of ALAN on bats by shielding areas against light scatter. Here, we investigated the effect of tree cover on the relationship between ALAN and bats in Berlin, Germany. In particular, we asked if this interaction varies with the UV light spectrum of street lamps and also across urban bat species. We expected trees next to street lamps to block ALAN, making the adjacent habitat more suitable for all species, irrespective of the wavelength spectrum of the light source. Additionally, we expected UV emitting lights next to trees to attract insects and thus, opportunistic bats. In summer 2017, we recorded bat activity at 22 green open spaces in Berlin using automated ultrasonic detectors. We analyzed bat activity patterns and landscape variables (number of street lamps with and without UV light emission, an estimate of light pollution, and tree cover density around each recording site within different spatial scales) using generalized linear mixed-effects models with a negative binomial distribution. We found a species-specific response of bats to street lamps with and without UV light, providing a more detailed picture of ALAN impacts than simply total light radiance. Moreover, we found that dense tree cover dampened the negative effect of street lamps without UV for open-space foraging bats of the genera Nyctalus, Eptesicus, and Vespertilio, yet it amplified the already existing negative or positive effect of street lamps with or without UV on Pipistrellus pipistrellus, P. pygmaeus, and Myotis spp. Our study underpins the importance of minimizing artificial light at night close to vegetation, particularly for bats adapted to spatial complexity in the environment (i.e., clutter-adapted species), and to increase dense vegetation in urban landscape to provide, besides roosting opportunities, protection against ALAN for open-space foraging bats in city landscapes

Relatório de estágio em farmácia comunitária

Relatório de estágio realizado no âmbito do Mestrado Integrado em Ciências Farmacêuticas, apresentado à Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade de Coimbr

Threat Perception, Emotions and Social Trust of Global Bat Experts before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Speculations about the origin of SARS-CoV-2 have catapulted bats into the spotlight of scientific and societal attention, with unforeseen consequences for bat conservation. In two global surveys with bat experts before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, we assessed their (i) threat perceptions, emotions towards bats and social trust in decision makers and (ii) the predictive potential of emotions, social trust and socio-demographic variables on threat perceptions. We also discuss (iii) the potential influence of the pandemic on threat perception and antecedents (emotions and social trust). We received 495 responses from 65 countries in September 2019 and 320 responses in June 2020 from 77 countries. We identified three major threat categories (indirect, direct and prejudice). Comparing threat perception, emotions and social trust between both surveys, we found that indirect threats (e.g., habitat modification) were considered as crucial, yet less so during the pandemic. During the pandemic, experts rated indirect threats lower and the perceived threat through prejudice (e.g., myths) higher than before the pandemic. During the pandemic, bat experts also expressed more compassion and sadness related to bats and trust in researchers and NGOs, but less trust in laypeople than before the pandemic. Emotions were particularly important predictors for threats through prejudice besides social trust. Socio-demographic variables (e.g., cultural and professional background) had predictive potential predominantly for direct threats (e.g., hunting and trade, wind turbines) and threats through prejudice. Our study highlights the role of emotions and social trust on threat perception among bat experts who remained relatively invisible during the pandemic despite their key role for bat conservation. More importantly, we echo previous calls to be more attentive to ecological grief also within the scientific community; especially as discussions around zoonotic spillover with valued study animals intensify

Urban Cemeteries as Shared Habitats for People and Nature: Reasons for Visit, Comforting Experiences of Nature, and Preferences for Cultural and Natural Features

Cemeteries are globally culturally protected greenspaces in cities that meet different societal needs and often harbor high biodiversity. To harness the potential of cemeteries as urban green infrastructure, stakeholders need to understand why people visit cemeteries and their preferences. We conducted an online survey in Berlin, Germany (n = 627) to understand (i) the reasons for cemetery visits; (ii) preferences for cemetery features; (iii) the effect of a dead tree as a wilderness component on preferences for differently managed green areas (wild, meadows, lawns); (iv) preferences of nature elements as comforting experiences; and (v) how reasons for the visit and sociodemographic variables relate to respondents’ preferences. The major reasons to visit cemeteries were ‘enjoying nature’, ‘mourning’, and ‘historical interest’ and most preferred cemetery features were ‘wildlife‘, ‘solitude’, and ‘vegetation‘. Presenting a dead tree did not modulate preference ratings for green areas that were depicted on photographs. Comforting experiences with nature elements were high overall. The reasons to visit had besides socio-demographic variables predictive potential on pronounced preferences. The results underscore the importance of cemeteries as multidimensional places and indicate tolerance for the inclusion of dead trees as important wildlife habitat. Strategies to develop cemeteries as shared habitats for people and nature should also consider, besides socio-demographic background, the reasons for cemetery visits