Mohd Rameli Nurul I A, Lappan Susan, Bartlett Thad Q, Ahmad Siti K, Ruppert Nadine
Primate Research and Conservation Lab, School of Biological Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Minden, Malaysia.
Department of Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina.
Am J Primatol. 2020 Mar;82(3):e23112. doi: 10.1002/ajp.23112. Epub 2020 Feb 21.
Citizen science-based research has been used effectively to estimate animal abundance and breeding patterns, to monitor animal movement, and for biodiversity conservation and education. Here, we evaluate the feasibility of using social media observations to assess the distribution of small apes in Peninsular Malaysia. We searched for reports of small ape observations in Peninsular Malaysia on social media (e.g., blogs, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, iNaturalist, etc.), and also used online, radio, print messaging, and word of mouth to invite citizen scientists such as birders, amateur naturalists, hikers, and other members of the public to provide information about small ape observations made during their activities. These reports provided new information about the occurrence of all three species of small apes (Hylobates agilis, Hylobates lar, and Symphalangus syndactylus) in Peninsular Malaysia. Social media users reported observations of small apes in almost every state. Despite the fact that small apes are believed to occur primarily in the interior of large forested areas, most observations were from fairly small (<100 km ) forests near areas of high traffic and high human population (roads and urban areas). This suggests that most outdoor enthusiasts primarily visit well-traveled and easily accessible areas, which results in biased sampling if only incidental observations reported on social media are used. A more targeted approach specifically soliciting reports from citizen scientists visiting large, less-accessible forests may result in better sampling in these habitats. Social media reports indicated the presence of small apes in at least six habitats where they had not been previously reported. We verified the reported data based on whether reports included a date, location, and uploaded photographs, videos and/or audio recordings. Well-publicized citizen science programs may also build awareness and enthusiasm about the conservation of vulnerable wildlife species.
基于公民科学的研究已被有效地用于估计动物数量和繁殖模式、监测动物活动，以及生物多样性保护和教育。在此，我们评估利用社交媒体观测来评估马来西亚半岛小猿分布的可行性。我们在社交媒体上搜索了马来西亚半岛小猿观测的报告（如博客、脸书、照片墙、推特、优兔、自然主义者等），还利用网络、广播、印刷信息以及口口相传，邀请观鸟者、业余博物学家、徒步旅行者和其他公众等公民科学家提供他们在活动中进行小猿观测的信息。这些报告提供了关于马来西亚半岛所有三种小猿（敏捷长臂猿、白掌长臂猿和合趾猿）出现情况的新信息。社交媒体用户报告了几乎每个州都有小猿观测情况。尽管人们认为小猿主要出现在大片森林的内部，但大多数观测来自交通流量大、人口密集地区（道路和城市地区）附近相当小的（<100平方公里）森林。这表明大多数户外爱好者主要前往交通便利、易于到达的地区，如果仅使用社交媒体上报告的偶然观测结果，就会导致抽样偏差。一种更有针对性的方法，专门向访问大型、难以进入森林的公民科学家征集报告，可能会在这些栖息地获得更好的抽样结果。社交媒体报告表明，至少有六个栖息地有小猿出现，而此前这些地方并未有相关报告。我们根据报告是否包含日期、地点以及上传的照片、视频和/或音频记录来核实所报告的数据。广泛宣传的公民科学项目也可能增强对濒危野生动物物种保护的认识和热情。
