Nature Navigator: A Review of Citizen Science as a Tool for Monitoring and Discovering Biodiversity

Louise Montgomery

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Informing individuals on the importance of the natural environment and biodiversity within is the cornerstone to how the natural world can be protected from the growing public who are disconnected from green spaces. In a detached society, citizen science instils appreciation and understanding of the importance of nature, endangered species, and degraded habitats. A comprehensive literature review shows that citizen science has greatly extended the range and area of environmental monitoring and biodiversity discovery due to long-term research that is unrivalled by professional scientific research on both spatial and temporal scales, and at reduced costs. Previous concerns of poor data generated from citizen science with respect to misidentification and bias are outweighed by the extensive sample sizes produced and reviews by trained scientists. The considerable amount of results that citizen science generates would be unobtainable by scientists alone, who would then be incapable of delivering the necessary data required on which policy decisions are made. Citizen science projects not only generate data, but also educate and empower the public to preserve and enhance the natural environment for biodiversity to flourish.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-7
Number of pages7
Journal[X]position
Volume2
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2017

Keywords

  • citizen science
  • Biodiversity
  • monitoring

Cite this