Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Ecologie Systématique Evolution, 91405 Orsay, France.
Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation (CESCO, UMR 7204), Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, 57, rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris, France; Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive (UMR 5558), Université Lyon 1, CNRS, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France; Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2020 May 10;716:136842. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136842. Epub 2020 Jan 28.
By monitoring biodiversity through citizen science programs, volunteers help scientists gather data at unprecedented temporal and geographical scales, and increase their knowledge and awareness of the surrounding biodiversity. While scientific outcomes of such programs may in the long run improve the state of biodiversity by informing environmental policies, direct benefits to biodiversity could arise locally if such experience of nature leads to biodiversity-friendly behaviors in volunteers. However, whether engagement into nature-based CS programs promotes individual behavioral changes remains poorly known. Here, we explored whether sustained participation in a nature-based citizen science program, called the French Butterfly citizen science project, is associated with changes in individual gardening practices. Specifically, using information provided by volunteers (n = 2362, from 2006 to 2013), we quantified gardening practices that directly affect butterflies, through two different indices: provision of nectar resources, and pesticide use. We found quantitative evidence that individual gardening practices shifted with multi-year participation, towards increased provision of nectar resources and decreased use of pesticides. However, the reduction in pesticide use was weakened if the backyard was used to grow fruits or vegetables. Other variables such as the size of the backyard affected gardening practices. This study reveals that participation in a nature-based citizen science program can prompt biodiversity-friendly behaviors, and highlights citizen science not only as a way to collect ecologically sound data but also as a direct conservation tool. Yet, future interdisciplinary research remains critical to overcome factors limiting firm adoption of pro-biodiversity behaviors.
通过公民科学计划监测生物多样性，志愿者帮助科学家以前所未有的时间和地理尺度收集数据，并增加他们对周围生物多样性的了解和认识。虽然此类计划的科学成果最终可能通过告知环境政策来改善生物多样性状况，但如果这种自然体验导致志愿者采取对生物多样性友好的行为，那么当地可能会产生直接的生物多样性效益。然而，参与基于自然的公民科学计划是否会促进个人行为的改变仍然知之甚少。在这里，我们探讨了持续参与名为“法国蝴蝶公民科学项目”的基于自然的公民科学计划是否与个人园艺实践的变化有关。具体来说，我们使用志愿者（n=2362，2006 年至 2013 年）提供的信息，通过两个不同的指数来量化直接影响蝴蝶的园艺实践：花蜜资源的提供和农药的使用。我们发现了定量证据表明，随着多年的参与，个体园艺实践朝着增加花蜜资源供应和减少农药使用的方向转变。然而，如果后院用于种植水果或蔬菜，则农药使用的减少会减弱。其他变量，如后院的大小，也会影响园艺实践。本研究表明，参与基于自然的公民科学计划可以促使采取对生物多样性友好的行为，并且强调了公民科学不仅是收集生态合理数据的一种方式，也是一种直接的保护工具。然而，未来的跨学科研究仍然至关重要，以克服限制坚定采取有利于生物多样性行为的因素。
