Centre de recherche sur les interactions bassins versants-écosystèmes aquatiques (RIVE) and Groupe de recherche interuniversitaire en limnologie (GRIL), Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, C.P. 500, Trois-Rivières, Québec, G9A 5H7, Canada.
Conserv Biol. 2014 Feb;28(1):44-51. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12131. Epub 2013 Aug 23.
Web-crawling approaches, that is, automated programs data mining the internet to obtain information about a particular process, have recently been proposed for monitoring early signs of ecosystem degradation or for establishing crop calendars. However, lack of a clear conceptual and methodological framework has prevented the development of such approaches within the field of conservation biology. Our objective was to illustrate how Google Trends, a freely accessible web-crawling engine, can be used to track changes in timing of biological processes, spatial distribution of invasive species, and level of public awareness about key conservation issues. Google Trends returns the number of internet searches that were made for a keyword in a given region of the world over a defined period. Using data retrieved online for 13 countries, we exemplify how Google Trends can be used to study the timing of biological processes, such as the seasonal recurrence of pollen release or mosquito outbreaks across a latitudinal gradient. We mapped the spatial extent of results from Google Trends for 5 invasive species in the United States and found geographic patterns in invasions that are consistent with their coarse-grained distribution at state levels. From 2004 through 2012, Google Trends showed that the level of public interest and awareness about conservation issues related to ecosystem services, biodiversity, and climate change increased, decreased, and followed both trends, respectively. Finally, to further the development of research approaches at the interface of conservation biology, collective knowledge, and environmental management, we developed an algorithm that allows the rapid retrieval of Google Trends data.
网络爬虫方法，即自动化程序通过数据挖掘互联网来获取关于特定过程的信息，最近已被提议用于监测生态系统退化的早期迹象或建立作物日历。然而，由于缺乏明确的概念和方法框架，这种方法在保护生物学领域的发展受到了阻碍。我们的目标是说明如何使用 Google Trends（一种免费的网络爬虫引擎）来跟踪生物过程时间变化、入侵物种的空间分布以及公众对关键保护问题的意识水平。Google Trends 返回在世界特定区域内特定时间段内针对某个关键词进行的互联网搜索次数。我们使用从 13 个国家在线检索到的数据，举例说明了如何使用 Google Trends 来研究生物过程的时间，例如花粉释放或蚊子爆发在纬度梯度上的季节性重现。我们绘制了美国 5 种入侵物种的 Google Trends 结果的空间范围，并发现了与入侵物种在州级别上的粗粒度分布一致的入侵地理模式。从 2004 年到 2012 年，Google Trends 显示与生态系统服务、生物多样性和气候变化相关的保护问题的公众关注度和意识水平分别增加、减少和跟随了这两种趋势。最后，为了进一步发展保护生物学、集体知识和环境管理界面的研究方法，我们开发了一种算法，允许快速检索 Google Trends 数据。
