Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities
Citizen science is increasingly utilized for environmental monitoring and educational purposes. For lotic ecosystems, this approach could be used to implement traditional methods and gain more data on local biodiversity, particularly in areas where professional monitoring is limited. This study, con...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Ecologies |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/6/2/31 |
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| author | Alessandro Lagrotteria Samuele Roccatello Alberto Doretto |
| author_facet | Alessandro Lagrotteria Samuele Roccatello Alberto Doretto |
| author_sort | Alessandro Lagrotteria |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Citizen science is increasingly utilized for environmental monitoring and educational purposes. For lotic ecosystems, this approach could be used to implement traditional methods and gain more data on local biodiversity, particularly in areas where professional monitoring is limited. This study, conducted in Italy, aimed to complement data on river macroinvertebrates collected by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA) with additional data gained by volunteers. Our results revealed taxonomic differences between the macroinvertebrate communities of ARPA and citizen science sites. ARPA sites host 34.4% of the total biodiversity, with 22 exclusive taxa, while citizen science sites, with 6 exclusive taxa, represent 9.4% of the total gamma diversity. Compositional differences are mainly explained by taxa turnover between sites. ARPA sites, located along the main river stretches, are richer in alpha and gamma diversity, while volunteer-monitored sites, mostly in agricultural ditches, show lower richness at the local and regional scales but host some unique taxa, increasing the total biodiversity. This study supports the implementation of volunteer programs to increase the number of monitored rivers, enhancing information on macroinvertebrate diversity and distribution and generating relevant data to support decision-making and develop strategies for river conservation and ecosystem restoration at a local scale. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-624efcb411274313956de3ee95c219cf |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2673-4133 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecologies |
| spelling | doaj-art-624efcb411274313956de3ee95c219cf2025-08-20T03:27:23ZengMDPI AGEcologies2673-41332025-04-01623110.3390/ecologies6020031Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate CommunitiesAlessandro Lagrotteria0Samuele Roccatello1Alberto Doretto2Department for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Piazza Sant’Eusebio 5, 13100 Vercelli, ItalyDepartment for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Piazza Sant’Eusebio 5, 13100 Vercelli, ItalyDepartment for Sustainable Development and Ecological Transition, University of Eastern Piedmont, Piazza Sant’Eusebio 5, 13100 Vercelli, ItalyCitizen science is increasingly utilized for environmental monitoring and educational purposes. For lotic ecosystems, this approach could be used to implement traditional methods and gain more data on local biodiversity, particularly in areas where professional monitoring is limited. This study, conducted in Italy, aimed to complement data on river macroinvertebrates collected by the Regional Environmental Protection Agency (ARPA) with additional data gained by volunteers. Our results revealed taxonomic differences between the macroinvertebrate communities of ARPA and citizen science sites. ARPA sites host 34.4% of the total biodiversity, with 22 exclusive taxa, while citizen science sites, with 6 exclusive taxa, represent 9.4% of the total gamma diversity. Compositional differences are mainly explained by taxa turnover between sites. ARPA sites, located along the main river stretches, are richer in alpha and gamma diversity, while volunteer-monitored sites, mostly in agricultural ditches, show lower richness at the local and regional scales but host some unique taxa, increasing the total biodiversity. This study supports the implementation of volunteer programs to increase the number of monitored rivers, enhancing information on macroinvertebrate diversity and distribution and generating relevant data to support decision-making and develop strategies for river conservation and ecosystem restoration at a local scale.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/6/2/31public engagementtaxonomic richnesstaxonomic diversitycommunity compositionbiomonitoringnestedness and turnover |
| spellingShingle | Alessandro Lagrotteria Samuele Roccatello Alberto Doretto Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities Ecologies public engagement taxonomic richness taxonomic diversity community composition biomonitoring nestedness and turnover |
| title | Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities |
| title_full | Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities |
| title_fullStr | Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities |
| title_short | Contribution of Citizen Science Data on the Evaluation of Local Biodiversity of Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities |
| title_sort | contribution of citizen science data on the evaluation of local biodiversity of benthic macroinvertebrate communities |
| topic | public engagement taxonomic richness taxonomic diversity community composition biomonitoring nestedness and turnover |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4133/6/2/31 |
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