Platforms such as iNaturalist and eBird encourage people to observe and document nature, but how accurate is the ecological data that they collect?In a new study published in Citizen Science: Theory and Practice March 28, researchers from the University of California, Davis, show that citizen science data from iNaturalist and eBird can reliably capture known seasonal patterns of bird migration in Northern California and Nevada — from year-round residents such as California Scrub-Jays, to transient migrants such as the Western Tanager and the Pectoral Sandpiper.“This project shows that data from participatory science projects with different goals, observers and structure can be combined into reliable and robust datasets to address broad scientific questions,” said senior author Laci Gerhart, associate professor of teaching in the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology. “Contributors to multiple, smaller projects can help make real discoveries about bigger issues.”Wild Davis researchThe study began as a student capstone project in Gerhart’s Wild Davis field course, which teaches students about urban ecology and California ecosystems. First author Cody Carroll, now an assistant professor at the University of San Francisco, took the course in 2020 while completing his doctorate in statistics at UC Davis.Most Wild Davis capstone projects are focused on community service at the Stebbins Cold Canyon Nature Reserve, but students were restricted to computer-based projects during the COVID-19 shutdown, so Carroll decided to use his statistical expertise to analyze data from iNaturalist.After Carroll graduated and began working at USF, the team regrouped and took the project a step further by combining the iNaturalist data with data from eBird, a different citizen science platform that is preferred by bird enthusiasts with significant birding experience.Merging iNaturalist and eBirdSince iNaturalist and eBird differ substantially in the type of data they collect and the ...
First seen: 2025-04-23 00:43
Last seen: 2025-04-23 01:43