Abstract
Can opportunistically collected citizen science data (OCS data) be used to monitor, evaluate and predict effects of environmental change on biodiversity? With this project I will promote the use of OCS data that can be of enormous value for environmental evaluations & nature conservation. Reports of species observations collected by volunteers provide rich spatial & temporal resolution that allows detailed analyses at spatial & temporal scales not possible previously. But those data lack standardisation creating biases that may cause erroneous interpretations and conservation actions. At present the problem of error & bias of OCS data is poorly understood and few concrete guidelines exist on how to use these data. I will provide a much needed basis for its use: 1) Systematically investigate biases and devise new methods for how to extract useful information from the data - information required by national & regional authorities, organisations and consultancies for environmental monitoring & assessment, conservation management and community planning. 2) Develop a toolbox for data selection and analyses designed for use by stakeholders to reduce/eliminate bias in future applications. 3) Demonstrate the value of OCS data and show how it can be used to provide new insights and early warning signals to monitor effects of environmental change on biodiversity, and help to prioritise conservation actions.
Sweden