Assessing the emergence of pro-biodiversity practices in citizen scientists of a backyard butterfly survey.

Sci Total Environ

Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO, UMR 7204), Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 57, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France; UMS Patrinat (Agence Française pour la Biodiversité, CNRS, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle), 57, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France. Electronic address:

Published: May 2020

AI Article Synopsis

  • People can help scientists learn more about plants and animals by participating in citizen science programs, which helps improve knowledge about biodiversity.
  • A study on the French Butterfly citizen science project showed that volunteers who participated for several years changed their gardening habits to help butterflies by planting more flowers and using fewer pesticides.
  • While some gardening practices improved, it was harder for people who grew fruits and vegetables to reduce pesticide use, so researchers need to keep studying how to encourage more eco-friendly behaviors.

Article Abstract

By monitoring biodiversity through citizen science programs, volunteers help scientists gather data at unprecedented temporal and geographical scales, and increase their knowledge and awareness of the surrounding biodiversity. While scientific outcomes of such programs may in the long run improve the state of biodiversity by informing environmental policies, direct benefits to biodiversity could arise locally if such experience of nature leads to biodiversity-friendly behaviors in volunteers. However, whether engagement into nature-based CS programs promotes individual behavioral changes remains poorly known. Here, we explored whether sustained participation in a nature-based citizen science program, called the French Butterfly citizen science project, is associated with changes in individual gardening practices. Specifically, using information provided by volunteers (n = 2362, from 2006 to 2013), we quantified gardening practices that directly affect butterflies, through two different indices: provision of nectar resources, and pesticide use. We found quantitative evidence that individual gardening practices shifted with multi-year participation, towards increased provision of nectar resources and decreased use of pesticides. However, the reduction in pesticide use was weakened if the backyard was used to grow fruits or vegetables. Other variables such as the size of the backyard affected gardening practices. This study reveals that participation in a nature-based citizen science program can prompt biodiversity-friendly behaviors, and highlights citizen science not only as a way to collect ecologically sound data but also as a direct conservation tool. Yet, future interdisciplinary research remains critical to overcome factors limiting firm adoption of pro-biodiversity behaviors.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136842DOI Listing

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