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Do amateurs and citizen science fill the gaps left by scientists?
Colin Fontaine1, Benoît Fontaine1, Anne-Caroline Prévot1
1Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, CESCO, UMR7204, MNHN, CNRS, SU, France.
Current Opinion in Insect Science
|March 17, 2021
Summary
Citizen scientists are increasingly involved in insect research, contributing to biodiversity assessments and ecological understanding. This growing public engagement offers significant opportunities for advancing insect conservation efforts.
Area of Science:
- Entomology
- Ecology
- Conservation Biology
Background:
- Insect diversity is vast, requiring substantial effort for comprehensive assessment.
- Understanding insect ecology and ecosystem roles is crucial for environmental health.
- Public interest in insects is growing, extending beyond academic and naturalist circles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the increasing involvement of non-academics in insect science.
- To analyze whether this trend signifies science integrating into society or academic shortcomings.
- To highlight the conservation potential of public participation in entomological research.
Main Methods:
- Review of trends in public involvement in insect research.
- Analysis of data collection and research output contributions from non-academics.
- Discussion of the implications for insect conservation strategies.
Main Results:
- A notable increase in the participation of amateurs in insect taxonomy, distribution studies, and monitoring.
- Evidence suggests science is becoming more embedded within society, rather than a failure of academia.
- Amateur involvement provides valuable data for large-scale and long-term insect monitoring.
Conclusions:
- The growing engagement of citizen scientists in entomology is a positive trend for science.
- Public participation in insect research offers significant opportunities for enhancing conservation outcomes.
- Integrating amateur efforts can lead to more robust and comprehensive insect biodiversity assessments.
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