Monitoring wildflower phenology using traditional science, citizen science, and crowdsourcing approaches

Wilson, A.; Bacher, K.; Breckheimer, I.; Lundquist, J.; Rochefort, R.; Theobald, E.; Whiteaker, L.; HilleRisLambers, J.

Monitoring wildflower phenology in national parks allows for detection of the biological impacts of climate change. Here, we compare three modes of data collection we employed at Mount Rainier National Park to monitor wildflower phenology: (1) a professional scientist approach with observations collected by credentialed experts (agency scientists and those traditionally employed by academic institutions), (2) a citizen scientist approach with observations collected by trained volunteers, and (3) a crowdsourcing approach with observations extracted from online photo databases. All three approaches have their advantages and disadvantages with regard to data characteristics (e.g., quality and quantity), outreach opportunities, and resources required to initiate and maintain each type of program. For example, professional scientists were able to collect the most detailed phenological data of the three approaches (e.g., multiple reproductive stages for more than 40 species), but this approach also required more technical skills to initiate and maintain and provided few opportunities for outreach. Per personnel hour, the citizen scientist approach generated more data than the professional scientist approach and provided the greatest opportunity for outreach, but was limited to presence/absence of easily identified species located at fewer study sites that could be easily accessed by volunteers. Crowdsourced data were least costly to acquire and most spatially extensive, but also provided the least detailed information on wildflower phenology and required personnel to have the most technical computing skills of the three approaches. Moreover, this approach is likely only feasible for abundant wildflower species in heavily visited portions of national parks. We suggest that the best approach to monitoring wildflower phenology in national parks (and other public lands) will depend on program goals (including data requirements, time frame, outreach goals, and partner/funder goals), available resources (including funding, staff, and volunteer capacity), and park characteristics (e.g., proximity to urban areas, visitation).

Monitoring wildflower phenology using traditional science, citizen science, and crowdsourcing approaches

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