Barbaro, Luc

Bourdin, Audrey

Bouriaud, Olivier

Branco, Manuela

Castagneyrol, Bastien

Centenaro, Giada

Csóka, György

Duduman, Mihail-Leonard

Dulaurent, Anne-Maïmiti

Eötvös, Csaba B.

Faticov, Maria

Ferrante, Marco

Fürjes-Mikó, Ágnes

Galmán, Andrea

Gossner, Martin M.

Harvey, Deborah

Howe, Andy G.

Kaennel-Dobbertin, Michèle

Koricheva, Julia

Lupaștean, Daniela

Löveï, Gábor L.

Milanović, Slobodan

Mrazova, Anna

Opgennoorth, Lars

Pitkänen, Juha-Matti

Popović, Marija

Roslin, Tomas

Sam, Katerina

Scherer-Lorenzen, Michael

Tack, Ayco J. M.

Tahadlová, Markéta

Thomas, Rebecca

Valdés-Correcher, Elena

Citizen Science Theory and Practice

English

Scientific knowledge in the field of ecology is increasingly enriched by data acquired by the general public participating in citizen science (CS) programs. Yet, doubts remain about the reliability of such data, in particular when acquired by school children. We built upon an ongoing CS program - Oak bodyguards - to assess the ability of European schoolchildren to accurately estimate the strength of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. We used standardized protocols to estimate predation rates on artificial caterpillars and insect herbivory on oak leaves and compared estimates made by school children, trained and untrained professional scientists (with no or limited expertise in predation or herbivory assessment). Compared to trained scientists, both schoolchildren and untrained professional scientists overestimated predation rates, but assessments made by the latter were more consistent. School children overestimated insect herbivory, as did untrained professional scientists. Thus, raw data acquired by school children participating in CS programs cannot be used and require several quality checks. However, such data are of no less value than data collected by untrained professional scientists and can be calibrated for bias

Duduman, Mihai-Leonard

Eötvös, Csaba

Galman, Andrea

Gossner, Martin

Howe, Andy

Löveï, Gábor

Tahadlova, Marketa

Tack, Ayco

HAL - Normandie Université

Can school children support ecological research? Lessons from the ‘Oak bodyguard’ citizen science project

Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto

Can School Children Support Ecological Research? Lessons from the Oak Bodyguard Citizen Science Project

International audienceScientific knowledge in the field of ecology is increasingly enriched by data acquired by the general public participating in citizen science (CS) programs. Yet, doubts remain about the reliability of such data, in particular when acquired by schoolchildren. We built upon an ongoing CS program, Oak Bodyguards, to assess the ability of schoolchildren to accurately estimate the strength of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. We used standardized protocols to estimate attack rates on artificial caterpillars and insect herbivory on oak leaves. We compared estimates made by schoolchildren with estimates made by professional scientists who had been trained in predation and herbivory assessments (henceforth, trained scientists), and trained scientists' estimates with those made by professional scientists with or without expertise (untrained) in predation or herbivory assessment. Compared with trained scientists, both schoolchildren and untrained professional scientists overestimated attack rates, but assessments made by the latter were more consistent. Schoolchildren tended to overestimate insect herbivory, as did untrained professional scientists. Raw data acquired by schoolchildren participating in CS programs therefore require several quality checks by trained professional scientists before being used. However, such data are of no less value than data collected by untrained professional scientists. CS with schoolchildren can be a valuable tool for carrying out ecological research, provided that the data itself is acquired by professional scientists from material collected by citizens

Csoka, Gyorgy

Eötvös, Csaba, B

Gossner, Martin, M

Howe, Andy, G

Löveï, Gábor, L

Roslin, Tomas, V

Tack, Ayco, J M

HAL: Hyper Article en Ligne

Can school children support ecological research? Lessons from the Oak Bodyguard citizen science

Scientific knowledge in the field of ecology is increasingly enriched by data acquired by the general public participating in citizen science (CS) programs. Yet, doubts remain about the reliability of such data, in particular when acquired by schoolchildren. We built upon an ongoing CS program, Oak Bodyguards, to assess the ability of schoolchildren to accurately estimate the strength of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. We used standardized protocols to estimate attack rates on artificial caterpillars and insect herbivory on oak leaves. We compared estimates made by schoolchildren with estimates made by professional scientists who had been trained in predation and herbivory assessments (henceforth, trained scientists), and trained scientists’ estimates with those made by professional scientists with or without expertise (untrained) in predation or herbivory assessment. Compared with trained scientists, both schoolchildren and untrained professional scientists overestimated attack rates, but assessments made by the latter were more consistent. Schoolchildren tended to overestimate insect herbivory, as did untrained professional scientists. Raw data acquired by schoolchildren participating in CS programs therefore require several quality checks by trained professional scientists before being used. However, such data are of no less value than data collected by untrained professional scientists. CS with schoolchildren can be a valuable tool for carrying out ecological research, provided that the data itself is acquired by professional scientists from material collected by citizens.This study has been carried out with financial support from the French National Research Agency (ANR) in the frame of the Investments for the future Programme, within the Cluster of Excellence COTE (ANR-10-LABX-45).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Roslin, Tomas V.

Repositório da Universidade dos Açores

Scientific knowledge in the field of ecology is increasingly enriched by data acquired by the general public participating in citizen science (CS) programs. Yet, doubts remain about the reliability of such data, in particular when acquired by schoolchildren. We built upon an ongoing CS program, Oak Bodyguards, to assess the ability of schoolchildren to accurately estimate the strength of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. We used standardized protocols to estimate attack rates on artificial caterpillars and insect herbivory on oak leaves. We compared estimates made by schoolchildren with estimates made by professional scientists who had been trained in predation and herbivory assessments (henceforth, trained scientists), and trained scientists' estimates with those made by professional scientists with or without expertise (untrained) in predation or herbivory assessment. Compared with trained scientists, both schoolchildren and untrained professional scientists overestimated attack rates, but assessments made by the latter were more consistent. Schoolchildren tended to overestimate insect herbivory, as did untrained professional scientists. Raw data acquired by schoolchildren participating in CS programs therefore require several quality checks by trained professional scientists before being used. However, such data are of no less value than data collected by untrained professional scientists. CS with schoolchildren can be a valuable tool for carrying out ecological research, provided that the data itself is acquired by professional scientists from material collected by citizens

CASTAGNEYROL, Bastien

VALDÉS-CORRECHER, Elena

BOURDIN, Audrey

BARBARO, Luc

BOURIAUD, Olivier

BRANCO, Manuela

CENTENARO, Giada

CSOKA, Gyorgy

DUDUMAN, Mihai-Leonard

DULAURENT, Anne-Maïmiti

EÖTVÖS, Csaba

FATICOV, Maria

FERRANTE, Marco

FÜRJES-MIKÓ, Ágnes

GALMÁN, Andrea

GOSSNER, Martin

HARVEY, Deborah

HOWE, Andy

KAENNEL-DOBBERTIN, Michèle

KORICHEVA, Julia

LÖVEÏ, Gábor

LUPAȘTEAN, Daniela

MILANOVIĆ, Slobodan

MRAZOVA, Anna

OPGENNOORTH, Lars

PITKÄNEN, Juha-Matti

POPOVIĆ, Marija

ROSLIN, Tomas

SCHERER-LORENZEN, Michael

SAM, Katerina

TAHADLOVÁ, Markéta

THOMAS, Rebecca

TACK, Ayco

Oskar Bordeaux

HAL Université de Toulouse, et Toulouse INP

Scientific knowledge in the field of ecology is increasingly enriched by data acquired by the general public participating in citizen science (CS) programs. Yet, doubts remain about the reliability of such data, in particular when acquired by schoolchildren. We built upon an ongoing CS program, Oak Bodyguards, to assess the ability of schoolchildren to accurately estimate the strength of biotic interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. We used standardized protocols to estimate attack rates on artificial caterpillars and insect herbivory on oak leaves. We compared estimates made by schoolchildren with estimates made by professional scientists who had been trained in predation and herbivory assessments (henceforth, trained scientists), and trained scientists’ estimates with those made by professional scientists with or without expertise (untrained) in predation or herbivory assessment. Compared with trained scientists, both schoolchildren and untrained professional scientists overestimated attack rates, but assessments made by the latter were more consistent. Schoolchildren tended to overestimate insect herbivory, as did untrained professional scientists. Raw data acquired by schoolchildren participating in CS programs therefore require several quality checks by trained professional scientists before being used. However, such data are of no less value than data collected by untrained professional scientists. CS with schoolchildren can be a valuable tool for carrying out ecological research, provided that the data itself is acquired by professional scientists from material collected by citizens

Valdes-Correcher, Elena

Bourdin, A.

Barbaro, L.

Bouriaud, O.

Centenaro, G.

Csóka, G.

Duduman, M.-L.

Dulaurent, A.-M.

Eötvös, C.B.

Faticov, M.

Ferrante, M.

Fürjes-Mikó, Á.

Galmán, A.

Gossner, M.M.

Harvey, D.

Howe, A.G.

Kaennel-Dobbertin, Michele

Koricheva, J.

Lovei, Gabor L.

Lupaștean, D.

Mrazova, A.

Pitkänen, J.-M.

Popović, M.

Roslin, T.V.

Tahadlová, M.

omorika

Can school children support ecological research? Lessons from the Oak Bodyguard citizen science project

https://hal-mnhn.archives-ouvertes.fr/mnhn-03082720/document

Can School Children Support Ecological Research? Lessons from the Oak Bodyguard Citizen Science Project

Abstract

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HAL - Normandie Université

Helsingin yliopiston digitaalinen arkisto

HAL: Hyper Article en Ligne

HAL - Normandie Université

Repositório da Universidade dos Açores

Oskar Bordeaux

HAL Université de Toulouse, et Toulouse INP

omorika