The Role of Natural History Collections in Public Engagement for Enhancing Biodiversity Research

By

Gavish-Regev, Efrat

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2019-7-4

Original Publication

Metabarcoding and metagenomics

Volume

3

Pages

1--2

Subjects

Biodiversity , Citizen science , Natural history collections , Scorpions

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2017-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.3.37782

 

Abstract

Citizen science biodiversity monitoring projects are becoming very common. It is generally accepted that these joint projects, of scientists and the public, have a positive effect on biodiversity and conservation education programs as well as on policy-makers opinion Ganzevoort et al. (2017). Yet, there is still a debate on the quality of the data collected in citizen science monitoring schemes, and especially on the benefits to high-quality research. Here, I present an example of how collection-based research and involvement of the public (non-taxonomists) in taxonomical education, i.e., advanced citizen science, can enhance research on scorpion diversity in Israel. Furthermore, the process of public involvement in monitoring and especially the prerequisites needed for this process, contributed to high-quality research, that in turn is enhancing biodiversity science. Considering this, I will discuss the basic stages required for successful public engagement in high-quality biodiversity research and monitoring schemes.