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Urbanization creates novel ecosystems comprised of species assemblages and environments with no natural analogue. Moreover, irrigation can alter plant function compared to non-irrigated systems. However, the capacity of irrigation to alter functional trait patterns across multiple species is unknown but may be important for the dynamics of urban ecosystems. We evaluated the hypothesis that urban irrigation influences plasticity in functional traits by measuring carbon-gain and water-use traits of 30 tree species planted in Southern California, USA spanning a coastal-to-desert gradient. Tree species respond to irrigation through increasing the carbon-gain trait relationship of leaf nitrogen per specific leaf area compared to their native habitat. Moreover, most species shift to a water-use strategy of greater water loss through stomata when planted in irrigated desert-like environments compared to coastal environments, implying that irrigated species capitalize on increased water availability to cool their leaves in extreme heat and high evaporative demand conditions. Therefore, irrigated urban environments increase the plasticity of trait responses compared to native ecosystems, allowing for novel response to climatic variation. Our results indicate that trees grown in water-resource-rich urban ecosystems can alter their functional traits plasticity beyond those measured in native ecosystems, which can lead to plant trait dynamics with no natural analogue.

Emerging technologies are increasingly employed in environmental citizen science projects. This integration offers benefits and opportunities for scientists and participants alike. Citizen science can support large-scale, long-term monitoring of species occurrences, behaviour and interactions. At the same time, technologies can foster participant engagement, regardless of pre-existing taxonomic expertise or experience, and permit new types of data to be collected. Yet, technologies may also create challenges by potentially increasing financial costs, necessitating technological expertise or demanding training of participants. Technology could also reduce people's direct involvement and engagement with nature. In this perspective, we discuss how current technologies have spurred an increase in citizen science projects and how the implementation of emerging technologies in citizen science may enhance scientific impact and public engagement. We show how technology can act as (i) a facilitator of current citizen science and monitoring efforts, (ii) an enabler of new research opportunities, and (iii) a transformer of science, policy and public participation, but could also become (iv) an inhibitor of participation, equity and scientific rigour. Technology is developing fast and promises to provide many exciting opportunities for citizen science and insect monitoring, but while we seize these opportunities, we must remain vigilant against potential risks. This article is part of the theme issue 'Towards a toolkit for global insect biodiversity monitoring'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global decline of pollinators, particularly insects, underscores the importance of enhanced monitoring of their populations and habitats. However, monitoring some pollinator habitat is challenging due to widespread species distributions and shifts in habitat requirements through seasons and life stages. The monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a migratory insect pollinator that breeds widely throughout North America, presents a unique case study for testing a sampling framework to overcome these challenges. Monarchs exhibit discrete resource needs across life stages (e.g., larval requirement for milkweed, adult requirement for floral nectar), utilizing many land use types across their extensive geographic range during breeding and migration seasons. The Integrated Monarch Monitoring Program (IMMP) uses a standardized protocol with a generalized random tessellation stratified (GRTS) sampling design to gather spatially balanced and ecologically representative information on monarch habitats within the United States. The IMMP is applicable to various land use types and habitats used by breeding monarchs and may be extended to sites outside of the GRTS design to collect data on non-random sites of interest, such as legacy or conservation sites. Additionally, the IMMP's modular design and publicly available training allows for broad participation, including involvement from community scientists. Here, we summarize habitat metrics (milkweed and floral resources) across 1,233 sites covering much of the monarch's breeding range. We examine variation in milkweed density and floral resource availability on probabilistic (random) and non-probabilistic (convenience) samples and among land use types (site types). Additionally, we assess resource availability within core geographies for monarch breeding and migration, specifically within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Monarch Conservation Units (western, northern, and southern United States). Milkweed density, floral frequency, and floral richness were higher on nonrandom sites and in the North region. Among site types, milkweed density was highest on Rights-of-Way and Unclassified Grassland, while floral frequency was lowest on Rights-of-Way. The IMMP represents the first field-based habitat monitoring program of this scale for monarchs, yielding a robust dataset on monarchs and their habitats across their breeding range and offering a framework for surveying the habitat of insect species with diverse habitat requirements or widespread distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent evidence suggests that community science and herbarium datasets yield similar estimates of species' phenological sensitivities to temperature. Despite this, two recent studies by Alecrim et al. (2023) and Miller et al. (2022) found very different results when using different data sources (community science and herbarium specimens, respectively) to investigate whether warming threatens wildflowers with phenological mismatch in relation to shading by deciduous trees.Here, we investigated whether differences between the two studies' results could be reconciled by testing four hypotheses related to model design, species, spatiotemporal data extent and phenophase.Hybrid model structures brought results from the two datasets closer together but did not fully reconcile the differences between the studies. Neither the species nor the phenophase selected for analysis seemed to be responsible for differences in results. Cropping the datasets to match spatial and temporal extents appeared to reconcile most differences but only at the cost of much higher uncertainty associated with reduced sample size.Synthesis: Our analysis suggests that although species‐level estimates of phenological sensitivity may be similar between community science and herbarium datasets, inherent differences in the types and extent of data may lead to contradictory inference about complex biotic interactions. We conclude that, until community science data repositories expand to match the range of climate conditions present in herbarium collections or until herbarium collections match the spatial extent and temporal frequency of community science repositories, ecological studies should ideally be evaluated using both datasets to test the possibility of biased results from either. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science, community science, and related participatory approaches to scientific research and monitoring are increasingly used by environmental educators and conservation practitioners to achieve environmental education (EE) goals. However, evidence of EE learning outcomes from these approaches are typically reported on a case-by-case basis, if at all. We undertook a systematic review of empirical studies in which community and citizen science (CCS) projects lead to EE outcomes. We surfaced 100 studies that met our inclusion criteria using a broad definition of CCS and empirical research on EE outcomes. The studies involved people in a wide variety of aspects of environmental research that included, but also went beyond, data collection. We found CCS approaches to EE overall resulted in positive learning outcomes for adults and youth, particularly gains for science content knowledge (56 articles), science inquiry skills (32), positive attitudes toward science and the environment (16), and self-efficacy toward science and the environment (11). We also found evidence for positive gains in environmental behavior and stewardship (29) and community connectedness and cooperation outcomes (30). These findings highlight how CCS programs may be uniquely impactful when involving people in planning, data analysis, and reporting aspects of environmental research and monitoring, as well as in data collection, and we offer examples and suggestions for CCS design. We found a heavy reliance on self-reporting in the research methods used in many studies, however, and so offer suggestions for more rigorous methods and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community science bioassessment has great potential to inform comprehensive stream management plans, but regional analytical tools are needed to evaluate macroinvertebrate data collected through community science programs. To this end, we modified a pre-existing professional index of biotic integrity (IBI) to create a community science IBI (CS-IBI), designed for stream macroinvertebrate data collected by community scientists with minimal training. We used data collected by both professional and community scientists to develop, calibrate, and validate the CS-IBI at 76 stream sites in the Puget Lowland and Willamette Valley ecoregions of the Pacific Northwest in the United States. Community science data were taxonomically coarser and more variable than data generated by professionals; however, IBI scores and assemblage data were statistically similar between community science and professional data. Stream impairment categories classified by family-level CS-IBI scores matched genus-level professional classifications 65% of the time and never diverged by >1 category. CS-IBI scores were negatively related to the percentage of agriculture and land development in the watershed, although this relationship was weaker than for professional IBI scores. Despite increased variability in data generated by community scientists, our findings suggest the CS-IBI performs similarly to a professional IBI across a gradient of human influence. Although we do not advocate using the CS-IBI in regulatory settings, we believe the development of community science IBIs enhances, expands, and strengthens public partnerships, thereby supporting environmental managers' efforts to monitor and restore degraded streams and rapidly respond to pollution events. Our hope is that the CS-IBI will improve the applicability of community science bioassessment data and serve as a model for how agencies can develop regionalized macroinvertebrate IBIs for use in comprehensive watershed management plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses of the H5N1 clade 2.3.4.4b were detected in North America in the winter of 2021/2022. These viruses have spread across the Americas, causing morbidity and mortality in both wild and domestic birds as well as some mammalian species, including cattle. Many surveillance programs for wildlife as well as commercial poultry operations have detected these viruses. In this study, we conducted surveillance of avian species in the urban environment in New York City. We detected highly pathogenic H5N1 viruses in six samples from four different bird species and performed whole-genome sequencing. Sequencing analysis showed the presence of multiple different genotypes. Our work highlights that the interface between animals and humans that may give rise to zoonotic infections or even pandemics is not limited to rural environments and commercial poultry operations but extends into the heart of our urban centers. IMPORTANCE While surveillance programs for avian influenza viruses are often focused on migratory routes and their associated stop-over locations or commercial poultry operations, many bird species—including migratory birds—frequent or live in urban green spaces and wetlands. This brings them into contact with a highly dense population of humans and pets, providing an extensive urban animal–human interface in which the general public may have little awareness of circulating infectious diseases. This study focuses on virus surveillance of this interface, combined with culturally responsive science education and community outreach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Marine community science presents an important route to gather valuable scientific information while also influencing local management and policy, thus contributing to marine conservation efforts. Because seahorses are cryptic but charismatic species, they are good candidates for engaging diverse people to help overcome the many gaps in biological knowledge. We have synthesized information contributed to the community science project iSeahorse from October 2013 to April 2022 for 35 of 46 known seahorse species. We then compared the obtained results with information in existing IUCN Red List assessments, executed from 2014 to 2017, to explore the potential of iSeahorse in expanding seahorse knowledge. Our results show updated geographic ranges for 7 seahorse species, new habitats described for 24 species, observations outside the previously recorded depth range for 14 species, and new information on sex ratio for 15 species and on pregnancy seasonality for 11 species. As one example of the power of iSeahorse, contributed observations on Coleman's pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus colemani) indicated that its geographic range is thousands of square kilometers larger, its habitat more diverse, and its depth range shallower than previously known. It is clear that iSeahorse is expanding knowledge on seahorses to a level that will help improve IUCN Red List assessments. The power of community science for marine conservation in general needs to be fully explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Citizen science is a popular approach to biodiversity surveying, whereby data that are collected by volunteer naturalists may help analysts to understand the distribution and abundance of wild organisms. In Australia, birdwatchers have contributed to two major citizen science programs, eBird (run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology) and Birdata (run by Birdlife Australia), which collectively hold more than 42 million records of wild birds from across the country. However, these records are not evenly distributed across space, time, or taxonomy, with particularly significant variation in the number of records of each species in these datasets. In this paper, we explore this variation and seek to determine which Australian bird species are least known as determined by rates of citizen science survey detections. We achieve this by comparing the rates of survey effort and species detection across each Australian bird species' range, assigning all 581 species to one of the four groups depending on their rates of survey effort and species observation. We classify 56 species into a group considered the most poorly recorded despite extensive survey effort, with Coxen's Fig Parrot Cyclopsitta coxeni, Letter-winged Kite Elanus scriptus, Night Parrot Pezoporus occidentalis, Buff-breasted Buttonquail Turnix olivii and Red-chested Buttonquail Turnix pyrrhothorax having the very lowest numbers of records. Our analyses provide a framework to identify species that are poorly represented in citizen science datasets. We explore the reasons behind why they may be poorly represented and suggest ways in which targeted approaches may be able to help fill in the gaps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Point counts (PCs) are widely used in biodiversity surveys but, despite numerous advantages, simple PCs suffer from several problems: detectability, and therefore abundance, is unknown; systematic spatiotemporal variation in detectability yields biased inferences, and unknown survey area prevents formal density estimation and scaling‐up to the landscape level. We introduce integrated distance sampling (IDS) models that combine distance sampling (DS) with simple PC or detection/nondetection (DND) data to capitalize on the strengths and mitigate the weaknesses of each data type. Key to IDS models is the view of simple PC and DND data as aggregations of latent DS surveys that observe the same underlying density process. This enables the estimation of separate detection functions, along with distinct covariate effects, for all data types. Additional information from repeat or time‐removal surveys, or variable survey duration, enables the separate estimation of the availability and perceptibility components of detectability with DS and PC data. IDS models reconcile spatial and temporal mismatches among data sets and solve the above‐mentioned problems of simple PC and DND data. To fit IDS models, we provide JAGS code and the new "IDS()" function in the R package unmarked. Extant citizen‐science data generally lack the information necessary to adjust for detection biases, but IDS models address this shortcoming, thus greatly extending the utility and reach of these data. In addition, they enable formal density estimation in hybrid designs, which efficiently combine DS with distance‐free, point‐based PC or DND surveys. We believe that IDS models have considerable scope in ecology, management, and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impacts of individual restoration activities, such as the total area covered and specific actions taken, can be difficult to measure because they are typically not performed randomly or independently. In Puget Sound, Washington, United States, removal of hard armor is a primary shoreline restoration measure. The length of armor removed from a beach and additional restoration actions implemented can vary considerably. As such, it is challenging to attribute specific ecological responses to particular actions. We use an extensive collection of sites regularly monitored pre‐ and post‐restoration to explore the success of different extents of armor removal and three supplemental "living shoreline" restoration actions: native vegetation planting, log placement, and sediment supplementation ("nourishment"). We measured five ecological response variables: sediments (percent surface, subsurface gravel), beach logs (count, line width), beach wrack (percent cover, depth), riparian vegetation (percent cover of supratidal, backshore), and supratidal invertebrates (density, richness). Only beach logs were affected by the length of armor removed, whereas wrack increased regardless of length. Invertebrate abundance increased through time only when supplemental vegetation planting did not occur. Placement of logs post armor removal was an impactful supplemental restoration strategy, positively affecting not only the further accumulation of logs, but also the amount of wrack and gravel sediments. Sediment nourishment only affected the proportion of subsurface gravel, which decreased through time in nourished sites. We stress the importance of the thorough monitoring of the ecological effects of living shoreline restoration actions to better understand their role in ecosystem recovery through time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise: The herbaceous layer accounts for the majority of plant biodiversity in eastern North American forests, encompassing substantial variation in life history strategy and function. One group of early‐season herbaceous understory species, colloquially referred to as spring ephemeral wildflowers, are ecologically and culturally important, but little is known about the prevalence and biogeographic patterns of the spring ephemeral strategy. Methods: We used observations collected by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to quantify the ephemerality of 559 understory forb species across eastern North America and classify them according to a continuous ephemerality index (ranging from 0 = never ephemeral to 1 = always ephemeral). We then used this information to model where ephemeral forbs were most common across the landscape with the goal of identifying geographic and environmental drivers important to their distributions and ranges. Results: Only 3.4% of all understory wildflower species were spring ephemerals in all parts of their range, and 18.4% (103 species) were ephemeral in at least part of their range. Spring ephemerals peaked in absolute species richness and relative proportion at mid latitudes. Conclusions: Spring ephemeral phenology is an important shade‐avoidance strategy for a large segment of the total understory species in temperate deciduous forests. In North America, the strategy is relatively most important for forest understories at mid latitudes. The definitions of spring ephemerality we provide here serve as an important ecological context for conservation priorities and to evaluate responses of this biodiverse group to future environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is an increasing need for accessible methods to monitor soil health. Our primary objective was to evaluate an accessible, do-it-yourself method for measuring the maximum water holding capacity – we call this the funnel, filter paper, and drainage (MWHCFFPD) method. First, we compared MWHCFFPD to the water desorption method via pressure cells (WHCPC), routinely used for generating soil water retention curves, using 10 soils from a wide range of textures (4–55% clay). Second, we tested the sensitivity of the MWHCFFPD to methodological variations likely encountered by citizen scientists. The two methods were quite comparable in precision, with mean coefficient of variances of 3.5% and 4.4% for the FFPD and water desorption method, respectively. The MWHCFFPD and WHCPC methods were comparable, with MWHCFFPD best correlating to WHCPC at −2.45 kPa (R2 = 0.98). The MWHCFFPD method is somewhat sensitive to some methodological modifications, most notably variation in water source, but with standardized protocols could be scientifically robust. Overall, MWHCFFPD can be used as a simple and affordable test of sieved soil structure and organic matter, and thus has potential to expand soil health monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Lakes and connecting waters encompass a vast and diverse ecosystem that presents scale challenges for management similar to those of the coastal ocean. Technological approaches to overcome the scale challenges have primarily been adapted from oceanographic applications and technologies, and from upscaling inland lake methods designed for shallower and calmer water bodies. Many standard methods for studying Great Lakes habitat and biota have long lag times between field collection and data availability. Many also miss much of the dynamics, three-dimensional complexity, and spatial variability needed to manage the system effectively. Even baseline conditions are not well characterized for many parts of the Great Lakes ecosystem (e.g. bathymetry and critical habitat, life cycles and food webs, night and winter movement and activity of organisms). Emerging technologies are beginning to address these needs but require coordination, consistent investment, training, and governance linkages. Here we survey recent technological advances and show how they are contributing to improved adaptive management of the Great Lakes ecosystem by reducing uncertainty and increasing understanding of physical, biological, and chemical processes, and the human dimensions of resource management and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to their close interaction with both wildlife and humans, free‐ranging domestic animals are well‐suited to act as conveyors of zoonotic pathogens. Yet, although cats Felis catus are major predators of bats and other groups of zoonotic concern (e.g., rodents and birds), mounting evidence suggests that their role in the emergence of zoonotic diseases may be unappreciated. Here, we use bat–cat information extracted from the popular iNaturalist platform as a case in point to illustrate the potential of community science and social media to expand our understanding of pet‐wildlife interactions. Although observations of cats preying on bats were more prevalent in Europe and North America, evidence of such interactions was documented across different geographic regions, revealing a relatively high incidence of bat predation by cats and providing evidence of cat–bat interactions previously unreported in the scientific literature. The lack of surveillance focused on cats and other pets as bridging hosts for zoonotic spillover events is concerning, considering the recognised risks they pose. Community science is a relatively untapped source of information for pet‐wildlife interactions of zoonotic relevance. It is crucial that we gain a better understanding of the interaction between free‐ranging pets and wildlife to better understand their potential contribution to past and future disease outbreaks. Failing to do so not only jeopardises human health but also puts pets at risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Song in oscine birds is learned across generations, and aspects of the song-learning process parallel genetic transmission: variation can be introduced into both cultural and genetic traits via copy error, and both types of traits are subject to drift and selective pressure. Similarly to allele frequencies in population genetics, observing frequencies of birdsong features can improve our understanding of cultural transmission and evolution. Uniquely, community science databases of birdsong provide rich spatiotemporal data with untapped potential to evaluate cultural evolution in songbirds. Here we use both community science and field study recordings of chipping sparrows, Spizella passerina , to examine trends across nearly seven decades of song. We found that some syllable types tended to persist in the population for much longer than others. Persistent songs tended to contain more syllables of shorter duration than songs that were observed across fewer years. To draw inferences about the effects of learning biases on chipping sparrow syllables, we constructed a spatially explicit agent-based model of song learning. By comparing our empirical analysis to simulated song distributions using three different song-learning strategies (neutral transmission, conformity bias and directional selection), we suggest that chipping sparrows are unlikely to select tutors neutrally or with a conformity bias and that they learn their songs with a remarkably low copy error rate. • Computational models can complement data from community science. • We model chipping sparrow song learning and compare results to historical recordings. • Chipping sparrows likely select which song they learn and sing as adults. • Their choice of which song they learn may depend on a quality of that song. • Short- and long-lived songs (recorded in 1 vs ≥50 years) have different properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Australian freshwater turtle populations have declined substantially, with consequent losses to aquatic ecosystem functions. A leading hypothesis is that turtles have declined through lost recruitment caused by high nest predation by invasive foxes. The 'fox hypothesis' is supported by experiments showing that nest predation rates exceed 95% in many regions. Furthermore, population surveys have repeatedly found absences of juvenile turtles, and headstarting experiments have successfully replaced those juveniles in some species. We are currently leading a nationwide citizen science program, '1 Million Turtles' (1millionturtles.com), to engage local communities to protect turtles from threats like nest predation using a suite of novel approaches. Our key innovation is to leverage community passion and interest for turtles to create positive conservation impacts via a nationwide support network. We provide a data collection tool and framework (TurtleSAT) and self-guided training in conservation methods. We assist with guidance for gaining licencing and permission, and applying for grants. We are evaluating our approach through both the impacts on turtle populations as well as through surveys of our engaged citizen scientists. Ultimately, we aim to create a science-supported, national grassroots conservation model where community champions can lead their own evidence-based approaches to help wildlife. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Migratory populations of monarch butterflies have declined substantially in North America. In Canada, where the monarch is listed as a species at risk, protecting the butterfly's critical breeding habitat has been identified as a conservation priority. However, protection of the breeding habitats in this country was not readily possible due to the scarcity of monarch breeding data. Here, we describe Mission Monarch, a community science program launched in 2016 to address this knowledge gap. We compare the Mission Monarch dataset with the datasets of eButterfly, iNaturalist and the Monarch Larva Monitoring Project, three other longer-established community science programs, to highlight the unique knowledge gap that Mission Monarch helps fill at national to continental scales. Even though Mission Monarch is a relatively young program, it has already provided more records of monarch caterpillars and milkweed than any other Canadian dataset from the aforementioned programs near the species' northern range. It has become the main monarch breeding monitoring program in Canada. We discuss the relevance of community science in filling knowledge gaps and addressing conservation issues. Implications for insect conservation: Community science programs can be specifically designed to fill knowledge gaps for insect conservation. They can be unique, yet complementary to other established programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contributory science—including citizen and community science—allows scientists to leverage participant‐generated data while providing an opportunity for engaging with local community members. Data yielded by participant‐generated biodiversity platforms allow professional scientists to answer ecological and evolutionary questions across both geographic and temporal scales, which is incredibly valuable for conservation efforts.The data reported to contributory biodiversity platforms, such as eBird and iNaturalist, can be driven by social and ecological variables, leading to biased data. Though empirical work has highlighted the biases in contributory data, little work has articulated how biases arise in contributory data and the societal consequences of these biases.We present a conceptual framework illustrating how social and ecological variables create bias in contributory science data. In this framework, we present four filters—participation, detectability, sampling and preference—that ultimately shape the type and location of contributory biodiversity data. We leverage this framework to examine data from the largest contributory science platforms—eBird and iNaturalist—in St. Louis, Missouri, the United States, and discuss the potential consequences of biased data.Lastly, we conclude by providing several recommendations for researchers and institutions to move towards a more inclusive field. With these recommendations, we provide opportunities to ameliorate biases in contributory data and an opportunity to practice equitable biodiversity conservation. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Odonates (dragonflies and damselflies) have become popular study organisms for insect-based climate studies, due to the taxon’s strong sensitivity to environmental conditions, and an enthusiastic following by community scientists due to their charismatic appearance and size. Where formal records of this taxon can be limited, public efforts have provided nearly 1,500,000 open-sourced odonate records through online databases, making real-time spatio-temporal monitoring more feasible. While these databases can be extensive, concerns regarding these public endeavors have arisen from a variety of sources: records may be biased by human factors (ex: density, technological access) which may cause erroneous interpretations. Indeed, records of odonates in the east-central US documented in the popular database iNaturalist bear striking patterns corresponding to political boundaries and other human activities. We conducted a ‘ground-truthing’ study using a structured sampling method to examine these patterns in an area where community science reports indicated variable abundance, richness, and diversity which appeared to be linked to observation biases. Our observations were largely consistent with patterns recorded by community scientists, suggesting these databases were indeed capturing representative biological trends and raising further questions about environmental drivers in the observed data gaps.

Community science has increased in popularity in communities where residents hope to investigate the relationship between environmental issues and personal health. This study partnered with neighborhoods in the most polluted residential zip code in the US to conduct community science air quality monitoring. We conducted 60 semi-structured interviews after two monitoring deployments to understand participants’ subjective experiences of pollution exposure, their engagement with low-cost air quality monitors, and their data interpretation. We utilize the environmental health concept ‘exposure experience’ to analyze how participants use personal monitors, understand their data, and reinterpret their pollution exposure as a result. We further explore how participants’ understandings are circumscribed by the technological features of low-cost monitors. We find that participants adopt both protective and mitigating behavioral changes based on information gained from personal experiments and hypothesis testing while using the monitors. Of their own accord, 40% of participants in this study adopted mitigation behaviors after identifying sources that impacted their personal air quality. Our analysis reveals that real-time data accessibility through low-cost monitors builds exposure awareness and enables residents of environmental justice communities to test, validate, or invalidate sensory experiences and challenge existing assumptions. These findings point to specific pathways for using low-cost monitors to support individual decision-making and contribute to behavioral change. Findings also identify some limitations of low-cost monitors; designers of low-cost monitors should consider how composite Air Quality Scores may encourage community scientists to equally value scientifically-established pollutants (e.g., PM) with less scientifically-established pollutants (e.g., TVOCs), without additional scientific training and health-related information.

Abstract Ranacephala hogei is a South American freshwater turtle considered one of the 25 most endangered chelonian species in the world. Endemic to the Atlantic Forest hotspot of southeastern Brazil, the conservation status of R. hogei is subject to continuous assessment at various levels. However, the scarcity of data regarding this species, particularly its geographic range, challenges these evaluations. In an effort to address these gaps, we conducted a comprehensive long-term inventory using different methods to study this species. Our efforts resulted in a 144% increase in documented occurrence points, including a new hydrographic basin and protected areas. By combining historical and current records, we have observed the persistence of R. hogei in rural areas, even in locations where its extinction was previously predicted. Consequently, our data significantly contribute to supporting future conservation assessments.

Abstract In the face of climate change, the accelerating nature crisis, and other anthropogenic impacts, conserving biodiversity demands effective monitoring. While innovative approaches have emerged to enhance biodiversity assessment, significant data gaps persist, particularly within marine ecosystems. In this study, we assess the utility of combining citizen (community) science with environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding for characterizing and quantifying marine fish biodiversity. Over the summer of 2022, 32 volunteers conducted extensive water sampling in a large Norwegian fjord, yielding 96 samples. Contrasting eDNA findings with conventional observational surveys (such as a national species registration database and beach seine surveys) unveiled a substantial overlap in recorded species inventories. The eDNA citizen science initiative identified previously undocumented species and rediscovered others emphasizing an increase in warm‐water species within the study area. Additionally, eDNA data unveiled reduced diversity within the inner fjord relative to the outer fjord. To conclude, our study demonstrates the successful integration of eDNA within a citizen science framework, facilitating comprehensive biodiversity tracking across coastal marine regions. These findings hold promise for advancing marine conservation efforts by providing valuable data to inform critical decision‐making processes.

The eastern population of monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) has dramatically declined in the last few decades, which is largely attributed to a loss of milkweed habitat in agricultural areas. Residential land in metropolitan areas has the potential to provide a significant source of the milkweed needed to support the monarch population. To examine if and how urban milkweed patches can support monarch butterflies, we worked with community scientists in the Chicago metropolitan area to monitor monarch eggs and caterpillars in yards and community gardens. We hypothesized that the largest numbers of eggs (i.e. gardens that were most attractive to monarchs) would be observed in patches that were older, had a high abundance of milkweed, contained more than one species of milkweed including Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) and/or A. incarnata (swamp milkweed), and had a large diversity of nectar plants. All patches were assessed at their peak egg count each year, which ranged from zero to 170 eggs in a given observation. To determine which characteristics were most influential to egg presence, we examined patches where eggs were present or absent during this peak observation. For abundance, we divided these peak observations into whether or not the egg counts were in the top 20% in a given year, excluding patches where eggs were absent, and assessed their patch characteristics. Our results show that patch age and presence of A. syriaca affected whether patches contained eggs or not. We also found that patches with the largest number of eggs observed tended to have A. syriaca, more milkweed plants, and a higher diversity of blooming plant species. The data we collected from community scientists in the Chicago area has enhanced our understanding of how urban gardeners can create effective breeding habitats for monarch butterflies. By planting Asclepias syriaca within its natural range, along with other native milkweed species and a diverse selection of flowering plants, individuals can create gardens that serve as excellent habitats for monarchs and other pollinators.

Fossil fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (ffCO2) constitute the majority of greenhouse gas emissions and are the main determinant of global climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic caused wide-scale disruption to human activity and provided an opportunity to evaluate our capability to detect ffCO2 emission reductions. Quantifying changes in ffCO2 levels is especially challenging in cities, where climate mitigation policies are being implemented but local emissions lead to spatially and temporally complex atmospheric mixing ratios. Here, we assess ffCO2 emission patterns associated with pandemic-induced changes to human activity using direct observations of on-road CO2 mole fractions in the Los Angeles (LA) urban area and analyses of the radiocarbon (14C) content of annual grasses collected by community scientists throughout California, USA. With COVID-19 mobility restrictions in place in 2020, we observed a significant reduction in ffCO2 levels across California, especially in urban centers. In LA, on-road CO2 enhancements were 60 ± 16% lower than the corresponding period of 2019 and rebounded to pre-pandemic levels by 2021. Plant 14C analysis indicated ffCO2 reductions of 5 ± 10 ppm in 2020 relative to pre-pandemic observations in LA. However, ffCO2 emission trajectories varied substantially by region and sector as COVID-related restrictions were relaxed. Further development of these techniques could aid efforts to monitor decarbonization in cities, especially in developing countries without established CO2 monitoring infrastructure.

Xanthomonads, including Xanthomonas and Xylella species, constitute a large and significant group of economically and ecologically important plant pathogens. Up-to-date knowledge of these pathogens and their hosts is essential for the development of suitable control measures. Traditional review articles or book chapters have inherent limitations, including static content and rapid obsolescence. To address these challenges, we have developed a Web-based knowledge platform dedicated to xanthomonads, inspired by the concept of living systematic reviews. This platform offers a dynamic resource that encompasses bacterial virulence factors, plant resistance genes, and tools for diagnostics and genetic diversity studies. Our goal is to facilitate access for newcomers to the field, provide continuing education opportunities for students, assist plant protection services with diagnostics, provide valuable information to breeders on sources of resistance and breeding targets, and offer comprehensive expert knowledge to other stakeholders interested in plant-pathogenic xanthomonads. This resource is available for queries and updates at https://euroxanth.ipn.pt. [Graphic: see text] Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.

Alberta grizzly bears are classified as a threatened species in the province of Alberta as of 2010, with human-caused mortality and habitat loss a primary threat. The people who live, work, and recreate within bear habitat play a crucial role in their conservation. While the public is often enthusiastic about grizzly bears, and opportunistically report their observations to government staff, these reports are not systematic or rigorously collected and lack key information. As such, we developed GrizzTracker as a community science program. Following several years of successful deployment, we analyzed community scientist data and evaluated the efficacy of the program through an online user survey. We found that the GrizzTracker app was useful as a data collection and public engagement tool, yielding information for applied management, and that community scientists were generally satisfied. We provide considerations for future program development, including considerations for human, social, technological, and financial capital investment related to design, development, and implementation of data collection protocols, the importance of clearly communicating outcomes, and opportunities for educational outreach. While there is continued trepidation by traditionally trained scientists to develop or engage in community science programs, and some noted areas of improvement for our program specifically, we think that GrizzTracker offers a success story in community science.

Societal Impact Statement Botanic gardens play a leading role in conserving plant species worldwide. Wollemi Pine, a critically endangered species described as new to science in 1994, has been the subject of botanic garden‐led conservation efforts, including widespread horticultural cultivation. An online survey found that gardeners hold a wealth of knowledge on the response of Wollemi Pine to local environmental conditions and horticultural regimes and a high level of awareness of the importance of plant conservation. This information could increase the success of future ex situ conservation efforts, such as the development of a genetically diverse, globally dispersed metacollection of Wollemi Pines. Summary The Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis; Araucariaceae) is a critically endangered conifer and the source of public and horticultural fascination since its identification in 1994. An ex situ population of Wollemi Pine was initially established in a botanic garden for conservation purposes. Subsequently, a commercial propagation programme was developed to satisfy the demand for this tree as a garden plant, with the release of plants internationally in 2005. We sought to understand how well the original aim of the Wollemi Pine horticultural release programme (to safeguard the species in the wild by promoting its widespread use in horticulture and thereby reduce the risk of illegal and harmful collection) has been met and the factors correlated with Wollemi Pine presence and growth in gardens. We developed an online community science survey to gather data on the location and growth characteristics of Wollemi Pines in garden environments globally. We received 1510 individual responses from 31 countries on five continents. The key factors correlated with the presence of Wollemi Pine were: a temperate climate with mean monthly minimum and maximum temperatures between 3.2 and 25.4°C, respectively, and above‐average rainfall. Plants in the ground were favoured by loamy soil. Wollemi Pines are established in gardens in many parts of the world and are amenable to a variety of horticultural situations. The results of this survey inform future conservation horticulture of this species, such as the development of genetically diverse metacollections, by ensuring the selection of participating botanic gardens and arboreta in environmentally appropriate locations.

The population decline of American Eels (Anguilla rostrata) in North America represents multiple crises: ecosystem destruction, industrial impact, forced relocation, cultural disenfranchisement, water degradation, and biodiversity loss. Once a key component of Indigenous societies, trade routes, economies, and ceremonial cycles, today Eels experience migration barriers and habitat degradation stemming from waterway abuse and land use alteration. The development of agricultural and industrial social norms has led to dramatic reductions in Eel populations across North America. Fishery agencies familiar with Eel life cycles often list species as depleted, and disappearance of Eels is well-accepted in all sectors. Related species of Anguillid Eels are in decline globally. Yet, in some areas, American Eels continue to migrate, grow, and even thrive. This article proposes Eel continuity as powerful survivorship in troubled times, a counter-narrative to overwhelming stories of environmental pessimism. Although Eels are often discredited, reviled, and disrespected by Americans and Canadians alike, their contributions to marine and aquatic zones are underestimated and poorly understood. This article employs a reflexive method of dialogue and commentary from two Eel advocates with interdisciplinary training and backgrounds, who envision relational, wisdom-based practices that meaningfully integrate Indigenous, community, academic, and other forms of knowledge about Eels and about water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As temperatures warm in response to anthropogenic changes (climate change and urbanization), animals must respond adaptively to these changes or be displaced. Here, we use community science data (iNaturalist and BugGuide) to show that melanization in larval monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus (Linnaeus, 1758), an endangered species in Canada) is correlated with latitude and temperature across a latitudinal gradient, indicating likely use in thermoregulation. We also predicted that melanization would decrease in cities where temperatures are consistently higher than rural areas; however, we found that while melanization was lower in urban areas, it was not statistically significant. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering life stage when assessing capacity for adaptation to anthropogenic change in vulnerable animal populations, like monarch butterflies. We also show the value of using community science to sample species (particular those of most concern) distributions across the landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article relates to the potential of applied laughter in social science. Here, we explore the "Laughie Challenge Australia." This community-based mental health initiative aims to get Australians laughing. We invite its instigator to discuss it, using a pragmatic qualitative research approach, Invited Collaborative Autoethnography (ICAE). Our purpose is to gain insight into the rationale and practicalities of using laughter to alleviate community mental health issues. Thus, we use ICAE instrumentally as a discourse platform to build understanding through joint narrative with a view of facilitating laughter community-science research collaborations. We recount the "story" of the Laughie Challenge, and the meeting of two academics and a community laughter leader, with a shared interest in the healing power of laughter and "real-world" laughter applications. ICAE enabled transparent, in-depth discourse. It has resulted in citizen science research to further advance knowledge in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bees and the ecosystem services they provide are vital to urban ecosystems, but little is understood about their distributions, particularly in the Asian tropics. This is largely due to taxonomic impediments and limited inventorying, monitoring, and digitization of occurrence records. While expert collections (EC) are demonstrably insufficient by themselves as a data source to model and understand bee distributions, the boom of community science (CS) in urban areas provides an untapped opportunity to learn about bee distributions within our cities. We used CS observations in combination with EC observations to model the distribution of bees in Singapore, a small tropical city‐state in Southeast Asia. To address the restricted spatial context, we performed multiple bias corrections and show that species distribution models performed well when estimating the distribution of habitat specialists with distinct range limits detectable within Singapore. We successfully modelled 37 bee species, where model statistics improved for 23 species upon the incorporation of CS observations. Nine species had insufficient EC observations to obtain acceptable models, but could be modelled with the incorporation of CS observations. This is the first study to combine both EC and CS observations to map and model the occurrences of tropical Asian bee species for a highly urbanized region at such fine resolution. Our results suggest that urban landscapes with impervious surfaces and higher temperatures are less suitable for bee species, and such findings can be used to advise the management of urban landscapes to optimize the diversity of bee pollinators and other organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tracking the state of biodiversity over time is critical to successful conservation, but conventional monitoring schemes tend to be insufficient to adequately quantify how species' abundances and distributions are changing. One solution to this issue is to leverage data generated by citizen scientists, who collect vast quantities of data at temporal and spatial scales that cannot be matched by most traditional monitoring methods. However, the quality of citizen science data can vary greatly. In this paper, we develop three metrics (inventory completeness, range completeness, spatial bias) to assess the adequacy of spatial observation data. We explore the adequacy of citizen science data at the species level for Australia's terrestrial native birds and then model these metrics against a suite of seven species traits (threat status, taxonomic uniqueness, body mass, average count, range size, species density, and human population density) to identify predictors of data adequacy. We find that citizen science data adequacy for Australian birds is increasing across two of our metrics (inventory completeness and range completeness), but not spatial bias, which has worsened over time. Relationships between the three metrics and seven traits we modelled were variable, with only two traits having consistently significant relationships across the three metrics. Our results suggest that although citizen science data adequacy has generally increased over time, there are still gaps in the spatial adequacy of citizen science for monitoring many Australian birds. Despite these gaps, citizen science can play an important role in biodiversity monitoring by providing valuable baseline data that may be supplemented by information collected through other methods. We believe the metrics presented here constitute an easily applied approach to assessing the utility of citizen science datasets for biodiversity analyses, allowing researchers to identify and prioritise regions or species with lower data adequacy that will benefit most from targeted monitoring efforts. Citizen science data are increasingly being used to monitor biodiversity, but datasets produced by citizen scientists come with a number of well‐recognised challenges. In this paper, we develop several metrics to assess the adequacy of spatial observation data from citizen science projects and explore these metrics at the species level for Australia's terrestrial birds. We find that data adequacy for most Australian birds is increasing, but several gaps still remain in the spatial coverage of citizen science data across the Australian continent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians are disproportionately represented among the many vertebrate taxa that are declining globally. Few long-term studies of amphibians exist, especially in temperate climates, hindering our understanding of long-term trends in amphibian communities, which may delay or prevent management action. Here, we develop and deploy an inexpensive monitoring method with potentially broad scientific and community uptake, ‘rapid road surveys’. We test whether this protocol is useful in understanding relative abundance in an amphibian community over a 17-year period. From 2003 to 2019, we performed thousands of rapid (5–15 min) amphibian surveys and recorded the number of on-road amphibians along a single, 267 m stretch of secondary roads in rural Canada. Assuming that on-road occurrence reflects relative amphibian population sizes, we show that amphibians have declined by approximately 73% from 2003 to 2019. The decline was driven by a remarkable 91% decrease in the abundance of northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens), the species comprising the most observation records, while all other species did not show a temporal trend. We cannot attribute a definitive mechanism to the L. pipiens decline. However, by ruling out a number of putative causes, we hypothesize that it may be related to land-use change or infectious disease. Our results show that a simple, temporally replicated road survey protocol, deployed in a spatially restricted area, can be a valuable tool for conservation scientists to understand trends in abundance across an entire community. We discuss how these rapid road surveys are likely a viable option for future community science initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within human-animal dyadic interactions, dog-human gaze has been identified as the crux of several important visual behaviors, such as looking back, gaze-following, and participation in an oxytocin feedback loop. It has been posited that this gaze behavior may have been motivated and sustained by cooperative relationships between dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) and humans (e.g., hunting, service roles), however, to investigate why gaze evolved, a comparison to a domesticated species that lacks a protracted history of cooperative companionship is needed: the domestic cat (Felis catus). In this study, we compare the gaze duration to owners of cats and dogs in a community science setting. We replicated previous gaze studies with dogs, wolves (Nagasawa et al., 2015), and dingoes (Johnston et al., 2017), requesting owners to sit with their pets for 5 min and interact as they normally would. Cats and dogs gazed at their owners for similar durations, but durations of petting and physical contact were significantly lower with cats. Gaze correlated significantly with vocalizations in dogs; however, no other correlations were significant. Dogs gazed less in our community science setting than dogs tested previously in-lab (Nagasawa et al., 2015). Ultimately, cats resemble dogs in their general gaze patterns, but not in most interactions with their owner. Future research should aim to include feral cats or wild cat species to shed light on gaze behavior development in the genus, while more community science work can identify the behaviors that shift for dogs between familiar and unfamiliar environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rapid urbanisation, the separation between humans and nature is a critical issue that leads to the eco-deficit culture and hinders efforts to alleviate climate change and biodiversity crises. In this essay, using the most recent scientific findings, we argue that the kingfisher, as a symbolic representation of nature, can act as a bridge that connects humans and nature through many pathways. In science, the kingfisher can be used as an indicator species to evaluate the environmental alterations of the wetland ecosystems, facilitating conservation efforts. In addition, the kingfisher's behaviours embedded in the indigenous communities' knowledge systems to predict environmental variability can be valuable resources for developing community science. The images, memories, and feelings associated with the species can also connect humans' mental realms with the world of other sentient beings, gradually building humans' perceived values of the natural world. With these benefits, with the kingfisher being a symbolic representation, wildlife can play a crucial role in restoring the lost bond between humans and the natural environment. Establishing a stronger connection between humans and nature is expected to significantly impact the transformation of human value systems from eco-deficit to eco-surplus mindsets. Moreover, for the kingfisher to play its role in connecting humans and the natural environment, conservation must be prioritised before some kingfisher species become extinct (e.g. Tasmanian azure kingfisher, Javan blue-banded kingfisher, Mangareva kingfisher, Sangihe dwarf kingfisher, etc.). Separation between humans and nature leads to an eco-deficit culture. We argue that the kingfisher can bridge the connection between humans and nature. In science, the kingfisher is an indicator species to evaluate alterations in wetlands. In indigenous knowledge systems, it is a predictor of environmental variability and is a valued resource for developing community science. Thus, as a symbol, the kingfisher can restore the lost bond between humans and the natural environment, and transform human value systems from eco-deficit to eco-surplus mindsets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We find ourselves at a time when the need for transformation in science education is aligning with opportunity. Significant science education resources, namely the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) framework, need an intentional aim of centering social justice for minoritized communities and youth as well as practices to enact it. While NGSS and AST provide concrete guidelines to support deep learning, revisions are needed to explicitly promote social justice. In this study, we sought to understand how a commitment to social justice, operationalized through culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, Culturally sustaining pedagogies and our futures. The Educational Forum, 2021; 85, pp. 364–376), might shape the AST framework to promote more critical versions of teaching science for equity. Through a qualitative multi‐case study, we observed three preservice teacher teams engaged in planning, teaching, and debriefing a 6‐day summer camp in a rural community. Findings showed that teachers shaped the AST sets of practices in ways that sustained local culture and addressed equity aims: anchoring scientific study in phenomena important to community stakeholders; using legitimizing students' stories by both using them to plan the following lessons and as data for scientific argumentation; introducing local community members as scientific experts, ultimately supporting a new sense of pride and advocacy for their community; and supporting students in publicly communicating their developing scientific expertise to community stakeholders. In shaping the AST framework through culturally sustaining pedagogy, teachers made notable investments: developing local networks; learning about local geography, history, and culture; building relationships with students; adapting lessons to incorporate students' ideas; connecting with community stakeholders to build scientific collaborations; and preparing to share their work publicly with the community. Using these findings, we offer a justice‐centered ambitious science teaching (JuST) framework that can deliver the benefits of a framework of practices while also engaging in the necessarily more critical elements of equity work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participatory research approaches hold potential to better understand society through valuing lived experience. Formula feeding babies is routinely stigmatised in the UK, despite inadequate support to facilitate breastfeeding. Our community science project investigated the safety of powdered infant formula preparation in the home through the completion of an at-home experiment and a research diary with closed and open questions (n = 151). To add validity to the interpretation of open text data in research diaries, a community analysis group of five formula-feeding mothers was established. The community analysts undertook inductive thematic analysis through a series of analysis group meetings focused around data extracts, contributed to the study's empirical outputs and this methodological output, meeting 23 times over a nine-month period. Detailed notes were taken during meetings and the methodological elements of these were thematically analysed with the community analysts to produce this article, with extracts from the academic researchers' field notes added where relevant. The overarching themes, presenting both positive experiences and areas for improvement, focused on: (i) clarity of expectations and the impact this had on community analysts' confidence, (ii) the stigmatising topic area and how this was managed by the facilitators, and (iii) feeling valued, in relation to honoraria, inclusion in outputs and community analysts coming to recognise their own expertise. Furthermore, the community analysts co-produced recommendations for including community analysts in future research. It provides guidance on how this can be appropriately costed for and supported by funding bodies and research teams, as well as providing guidance on recruitment and chairing meetings. We hope that this article can provide valuable input into how to involve the community more inclusively as research partners in qualitative analysis related to stigmatised topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding how the abundance of species varies across geographical ranges is central to ecology; however, few studies test hypotheses using detailed abundance estimates across the full ranges of species on a continental scale. Here, we use unprecedented, detailed estimates of breeding abundance for North American birds (eBird) to test two hypotheses for how abundance varies across species' ranges. We find widespread support for the rare-edge hypothesis—where the abundance of species declines near the range edge—reflecting both reduced occurrence and lower local abundance near range edges. By contrast, we find mixed support for the abundant-centre hypothesis—where the abundance of species peaks in the centre of the range and declines towards the edges—with limited support in conservative tests within species, but general support in among-species tests that control for unbalanced sampling and consider a broader definition of the range centre. Overall, results are consistent with a gradual decline in suitable conditions and increase in challenge towards the range edge that eventually limit the ability of populations to persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protecting diverse solitary ground-nesting bees remains a pivotal conservation concern. Ground-nesting bees are negatively impacted by anthropogenic land use change that often removes suitable nesting habitat from the landscape. Despite their enormous ecological and agricultural contributions to pollination, solitary, ground-nesting bees are often neglected, partly due to the significant obstacle of discovering exactly where these bees establish their nests. To address this limitation, we have developed a 'community science' project to map aggregations of ground-nesting bees globally. In certain locations, their abundances reach astounding levels, sometimes in the millions, but are scarcely known. Utilizing the iNaturalist platform, which permits geo-referencing of site observations and bee identification, we are providing public education and seeking public engagement to document bee aggregations in order to understand the nesting requirements of diverse species and open new opportunities for their conservation. Conservation priorities may then unequivocally be directed to areas of high species richness, nest densities, and nesting sites of rare bees. Such community-led efforts are vital for successful long-term management of native bees and the biotic and abiotic landscape data from nest-site localities can allow modeling to predict nest-site suitability and to readily test such predictions on the ground. Here, we summarize the progress, current limitations, and opportunities of using a global mapping project (GNBee) to direct conservation efforts and research toward solitary ground-nesting bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities can have profound impacts on ecosystems, yet our understanding of these impacts is currently limited. First, the effects of the socioeconomic dimensions of human society are often overlooked. Second, correlative analyses are common, limiting our causal understanding of mechanisms. Third, most research has focused on terrestrial systems, ignoring aquatic systems that also provide important ecosystem services. Here we compare the effects of human population density and low‐income prevalence on the macroinvertebrate communities and ecosystem processes within water‐filled artificial tree holes. We hypothesized that these human demographic variables would affect tree holes in different ways via changes in temperature, water nutrients, and the local tree hole environment. We recruited community scientists across Greater Vancouver (Canada) to provide host trees and tend 50 tree holes over 14 weeks of colonization. We quantified tree hole ecosystems in terms of aquatic invertebrates, litter decomposition, and chlorophyll a (chl a). We compiled potential explanatory variables from field measurements, satellite images, or census databases. Using structural equation models, we showed that invertebrate abundance was affected by low‐income prevalence but not human population density. This was driven by cosmopolitan species of Ceratopogonidae (Diptera) with known associations to anthropogenic containers. Invertebrate diversity and abundance were also affected by environmental factors, such as temperature, elevation, water nutrients, litter quantity, and exposure. By contrast, invertebrate biomass, chl a, and litter decomposition were not affected by any measured variables. In summary, this study shows that some urban ecosystems can be largely unaffected by human population density. Our study also demonstrates the potential of using artificial tree holes as a standardized, replicated habitat for studying urbanization. Finally, by combining community science and urban ecology, we were able to involve our local community in this pandemic research pivot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Butterflies are in decline due to habitat conversion, climate change, and agricultural practices. Insects have a narrow range of habitable conditions, and extreme fluctuations in weather or climate can lead to population declines. Other studies have shown that butterfly populations are declining in western US; however, given the distinct climate of the southwest, with two distinct rainy seasons, we wanted to explore whether the general trends held true for Arizona. We used 40 years of community science data taken at 13 sites and in two seasons to assess population trends and relationships with climate variables (precipitation and temperature). We found that the declines seen in Arizona reflect the general trends found for western US. The preceding winter precipitation is a driver of both the number of species in the fall and spring surveys and the total number of unique butterflies in the spring surveys. The number of unique butterflies counted in the fall surveys was more affected by summer monsoon precipitations. Managers and policy makers may use these results, combined with climate projections, to consider implementing management actions to help counteract butterfly declines, such as creating more refugia for butterflies across the landscape. Butterfly populations are declining worldwide, reflecting our current global biodiversity crisis. Because butterflies are a popular and accurate indicator of insect populations, these declines reflect an even more widespread threat to insects and the food webs upon which they rely. As small ectotherms, insects have a narrow range of habitable conditions; hence, extreme fluctuations and shifts caused by climate change may increase insects' risk of extinction. We evaluated trends of butterfly richness and abundance and their relationship with relevant climate variables in Arizona, U.S.A., using the past 40 years of community science data. We focused on precipitation and temperature as they are known to be influential for insect survival, particularly in arid areas like southwestern U.S.A. We found that preceding winter precipitation is a driver of both spring and summer/fall butterfly richness and spring butterfly abundance. In contrast, summer/fall butterfly abundance was driven by summer monsoon precipitations. The statistically significant declines over the 40-year period were summer/fall butterfly abundance and spring butterfly richness. When controlling for the other variables in the model, there was an average annual 1.81% decline in summer/fall season butterfly abundance and an average annual decline of 2.13 species in the spring season. As climate change continues to negatively impact winter precipitation patterns in this arid region, we anticipate the loss of butterfly species in this region and must consider individual butterfly species trends and additional management and conservation needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement: Botanic gardens play a leading role in conserving plant species worldwide. Wollemi Pine, a critically endangered species described as new to science in 1994, has been the subject of botanic garden‐led conservation efforts, including widespread horticultural cultivation. An online survey found that gardeners hold a wealth of knowledge on the response of Wollemi Pine to local environmental conditions and horticultural regimes and a high level of awareness of the importance of plant conservation. This information could increase the success of future ex situ conservation efforts, such as the development of a genetically diverse, globally dispersed metacollection of Wollemi Pines. Summary: The Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis; Araucariaceae) is a critically endangered conifer and the source of public and horticultural fascination since its identification in 1994. An ex situ population of Wollemi Pine was initially established in a botanic garden for conservation purposes. Subsequently, a commercial propagation programme was developed to satisfy the demand for this tree as a garden plant, with the release of plants internationally in 2005. We sought to understand how well the original aim of the Wollemi Pine horticultural release programme (to safeguard the species in the wild by promoting its widespread use in horticulture and thereby reduce the risk of illegal and harmful collection) has been met and the factors correlated with Wollemi Pine presence and growth in gardens.We developed an online community science survey to gather data on the location and growth characteristics of Wollemi Pines in garden environments globally.We received 1510 individual responses from 31 countries on five continents. The key factors correlated with the presence of Wollemi Pine were: a temperate climate with mean monthly minimum and maximum temperatures between 3.2 and 25.4°C, respectively, and above‐average rainfall. Plants in the ground were favoured by loamy soil.Wollemi Pines are established in gardens in many parts of the world and are amenable to a variety of horticultural situations. The results of this survey inform future conservation horticulture of this species, such as the development of genetically diverse metacollections, by ensuring the selection of participating botanic gardens and arboreta in environmentally appropriate locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dense thickets of invasive, exotic blackberries (Rubus spp.) are common in many disturbed sites throughout the western Pacific Northwest. Most of these blackberry brambles are widely accepted as Rubus armeniacus. Published accounts from the past decade however, have revealed a morphologically similar species, Rubus praecox, to be broadly distributed and it can occur in many of the same habitats as R. armeniacus. In this study, local community scientists were engaged to assess the distribution and relative abundances of these two Rubus species in 13 small-to mid-sized parks managed by the City of Portland. At all surveyed parks, R. armeniacus occurred in various quantities. Rubus praecox was only present in negligible amounts at four sites. A review of online herbarium specimens similarly supports this finding of broadly distributed but low quantities of R. praecox. Based on these results, we conclude that current management practices to control invasive Rubus spp. should not be altered due to the slight chance of encountering a less common exotic Rubus species. We also strongly support the engagement and training of local community members to actively learn about their native and exotic flora to support the conservation of local natural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Global change is increasing the frequency and severity of human‐wildlife interactions by pushing people and wildlife into increasingly resource‐limited shared spaces. To understand the dynamics of human‐wildlife interactions and what may constitute human‐wildlife coexistence in the Anthropocene, there is a critical need to explore the spatial, temporal, sociocultural and ecological variables that contribute to human‐wildlife conflicts in urban areas. Due to their opportunistic foraging and behavioural flexibility, coyotes (Canis latrans) frequently interact with people in urban environments. San Francisco, California, USA hosts a very high density of coyotes, making it an excellent region for analysing urban human‐coyote interactions and attitudes toward coyotes over time and space. We used a community‐curated long‐term data source from San Francisco Animal Care and Control to summarise a decade of coyote sightings and human‐coyote interactions in San Francisco and to characterise spatiotemporal patterns of attitudes and interaction types in relation to housing density, socioeconomics, pollution and human vulnerability metrics, and green space availability. We found that human‐coyote conflict reports have been significantly increasing over the past 5 years and that there were more conflicts during the coyote pup‐rearing season (April–June), the dry season (June–September) and the COVID‐19 pandemic. Conflict reports were also more likely to involve dogs and occur inside of parks, despite more overall sightings occurring outside of parks. Generalised linear mixed models revealed that conflicts were more likely to occur in places with higher vegetation greenness and median income. Meanwhile reported coyote boldness, hazing and human attitudes toward coyotes were also correlated with pollution burden and human population vulnerability indices. Synthesis and applications: Our results provide compelling evidence suggesting that human‐coyote conflicts are intimately associated with social‐ecological heterogeneities and time, emphasizing that the road to coexistence will require socially informed strategies. Additional long‐term research articulating how the social‐ecological drivers of conflict (e.g. human food subsidies, interactions with domestic species, climate‐induced droughts, socioeconomic disparities, etc.) change over time will be essential in building adaptive management efforts that effectively mitigate future conflicts from occurring. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.