An evaluation of a citizen science data collection program for recording wildlife observations along a highway.

Citizen science programs that record wildlife observations on and along roads can help reduce the underreporting of wildlife-vehicle collisions and identify and prioritize road sections where mitigation measures may be required. It is important to evaluate potential biases in opportunistic citizen science data. We investigated whether the opportunistic observations of live animals by volunteers along a 46-km section of Highway 3 in the Crowsnest Pass area ("Road Watch in the Pass" data collection program) in Alberta, Canada, had a similar spatial pattern as systematically collected data by the researchers along the same road section. A permutation modeling process that compared the number of observations between the two datasets for each 1-km segment, a randomization method that tested for and compared hotspot observation locations, and a bivariate Ripley's L1.2-function analysis along a continuum of spatial scales all showed spatial agreement between the two datasets. There was spatial agreement at a scale between 1 and 4 km, and three clear hotspots of wildlife observation activity were identified for both processes. This suggests that the data collected by the volunteers are reliable and robust enough to be used to help identify road sections that may require mitigation measures. In addition, volunteers proved to be able to collect a sufficient number of observations relatively quickly. Within one year, 24 volunteers collected 640 wildlife observations, and we found that using only 150 or more of these observations always resulted in spatial similarity with the systematic observations collected by the researchers. We conclude with recommendations for other citizen science data collection programs and for further research.

[1]  Krista G. Hilchey,et al.  A review of citizen science and community-based environmental monitoring: issues and opportunities , 2011, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[2]  A. Clevenger,et al.  Performance indices to identify attributes of highway crossing structures facilitating movement of large mammals , 2005 .

[3]  T. A. Langen,et al.  Road mortality in freshwater turtles: identifying causes of spatial patterns to optimize road planning and mitigation , 2012, Biodiversity and Conservation.

[4]  H B Graves,et al.  Distribution and Activity of White-Tailed Deer along an Interstate Highway , 1975 .

[5]  António Câmara,et al.  Promoting the use of environmental data collected by concerned citizens through information and communication technologies. , 2004, Journal of environmental management.

[6]  E. Hand,et al.  Citizen science: People power , 2010, Nature.

[7]  N. Yan,et al.  Auditing the Accuracy of a Volunteer-Based Surveillance Program for an Aquatic Invader Bythotrephes , 2004, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[8]  J. Andrew Royle,et al.  Site‐Occupancy Distribution Modeling to Correct Population‐Trend Estimates Derived from Opportunistic Observations , 2010, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[9]  E Nicholson,et al.  Community data--where does the value lie? Assessing confidence limits of community collected water quality data. , 2002, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[10]  Norris L. Dodd,et al.  Assessment of Elk Highway Permeability by Using Global Positioning System Telemetry , 2007 .

[11]  M. Quinn,et al.  Citizen, science, highways, and wildlife: Using a web-based GIS to engage citizens in collecting wildlife information , 2006 .

[12]  A. Adams,et al.  EVALUATING THE QUALITY OF , 2016 .

[13]  J. S. Lindzey,et al.  FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHWAY MORTALITY OF WHITE-TAILED DEER , 1974 .

[14]  M. Huijser,et al.  Wildlife Data Collection and Potential Highway Mitigation Along State Highway 75, Blaine County, Idaho , 2008 .

[15]  W. Darwall,et al.  An evaluation of the suitability of non-specialist volunteer researchers for coral reef fish surveys. Mafia Island, Tanzania — A case study , 1996 .

[16]  Candie C. Wilderman,et al.  Public Participation in Scientific Research: a Framework for Deliberate Design , 2012 .

[17]  M. Proctor,et al.  Population Fragmentation of Grizzly Bears in Southeastern British Columbia, Canada , 2007 .

[18]  J. Reese Voshell,et al.  Volunteer Biological Monitoring: Can It Accurately Assess the Ecological Condition of Streams? , 2002 .

[19]  R. Bonney,et al.  Citizen Science: A Developing Tool for Expanding Science Knowledge and Scientific Literacy , 2009 .

[20]  R. Noss,et al.  CARNIVORES AS FOCAL SPECIES FOR CONSERVATION PLANNING IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION , 2001 .

[21]  A. Koekkoek Contributions to the discussion , 2003 .

[22]  H Summala,et al.  Deer-vehicle crashes: extensive peak at 1 hour after sunset. , 2001, American journal of preventive medicine.

[23]  S. M. Evans,et al.  The value of marine ecological data collected by volunteers , 2003 .

[24]  Leska S. Fore,et al.  Assessing the performance of volunteers in monitoring streams. , 2001 .

[25]  C. Kremen,et al.  Evaluating the Quality of Citizen‐Scientist Data on Pollinator Communities , 2011, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[26]  T Brydges,et al.  Public participation and volunteer help in monitoring programs: An assessment , 1990, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[27]  P. Koene,et al.  Interspecific and intraspecific social interactions among brown bears and wolves in an enclosure , 2002 .

[28]  T. Snäll,et al.  Evaluating citizen-based presence data for bird monitoring , 2011 .

[29]  Marcel P Huijser,et al.  Animal–Vehicle Collision Data Collection , 2007 .

[30]  S. Boyden,et al.  Spatial and temporal patterns in structure, regeneration, and mortality of an old-growth ponderosa pine forest in the Colorado Front Range , 2005 .

[31]  Kristen S. Genet,et al.  Evaluation of methods and data quality from a volunteer-based amphibian call survey , 2003 .

[32]  Marcel P Huijser,et al.  Wildlife Crossing Structure Handbook: Design and Evaluation in North America , 2011 .

[33]  Richard L. O 'Driscoll Description of spatial pattern in seabird distributions along line transects using neighbour K statistics , 1998 .

[34]  J. S. Waller,et al.  EFFECTS OF TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE ON GRIZZLY BEARS IN NORTHWESTERN MONTANA , 2005 .

[35]  Giorgos Mountrakis,et al.  Multi‐scale spatiotemporal analyses of moose–vehicle collisions: a case study in northern Vermont , 2009, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[36]  A. Clevenger,et al.  Spatial patterns and factors influencing small vertebrate fauna road-kill aggregations , 2003 .

[37]  D. Moskowitz,et al.  CASCADE WILDLIFE MONITORING PROJECT WINTER 2006-2007 FIELD SEASON REPORT , 2007 .

[38]  Raymond M. Sauvajot,et al.  Use of highway undercrossings by wildlife in southern California , 2004 .

[39]  N. Krogman,et al.  Social Thresholds and their Translation into Social-ecological Management Practices , 2012 .

[40]  Emilio Padoa-Schioppa,et al.  Usefulness of volunteer data to measure the large scale decline of “common” toad populations , 2011 .

[41]  R. Pélissier,et al.  Avoiding misinterpretation of biotic interactions with the intertype K12-function: population independence vs. random labelling hypotheses , 2003 .

[42]  A. Kindel,et al.  ARE ROAD-KILL HOTSPOTS COINCIDENT AMONG DIFFERENT VERTEBRATE GROUPS? , 2013 .

[43]  A. Clevenger,et al.  GIS‐Generated, Expert‐Based Models for Identifying Wildlife Habitat Linkages and Planning Mitigation Passages , 2002 .

[44]  Anthony P. Clevenger,et al.  Highway mitigation fencing reduces wildlife-vehicle collisions , 2001 .

[45]  Peter J. Diggle,et al.  Statistical analysis of spatial point patterns , 1983 .

[46]  Patrick Tracy McGowen,et al.  Cost–Benefit Analyses of Mitigation Measures Aimed at Reducing Collisions with Large Ungulates in the United States and Canada: a Decision Support Tool , 2009 .

[47]  S. S. Stevens,et al.  Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores , 2010 .

[48]  David W. Macdonald,et al.  Validating mammal monitoring methods and assessing the performance of volunteers in wildlife conservation—“Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodies ?” , 2003 .

[49]  Raúl E. Martínez,et al.  Methodology for public monitoring of total coliforms, Escherichia coli and toxicity in waterways by Canadian high school students , 2000 .

[50]  A. W. Galloway,et al.  The Reliability of Citizen Science: A Case Study of Oregon White Oak Stand Surveys , 2006 .

[51]  Bernard W. Silverman,et al.  Methods for Analysing Spatial Processes of Several Types of Points , 1982 .

[52]  John M. Goodburn,et al.  Spatial patterns of regeneration in managed uneven-aged ponderosa pine/Douglas-fir forests of Western Montana, USA , 2006 .

[53]  Trevor C. Bailey,et al.  Interactive Spatial Data Analysis , 1995 .