POLLINATORS POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION

THE ASSESSMENT REPORT ON POLLINATORS, POLLINATION AND FOOD PRODUCTION
records collected via popular social media sites could
quickly generate records from across the UK, which could
be used for species identification if clear instructions were
given on important body parts to include in the photo.
Trained members of the public in New South Wales,
Australia monitored the extent of a small invading non-native
bee species, Halictus smaragdulus (Ashcroft et al., 2012).
Data from the North American Bird Phenology Program
were used to show that ruby-throated hummingbirds
(Archilochus colubris) are arriving 11-18 days earlier from
their migration in the Eastern USA than in the early to midtwentieth
century (Courter et al., 2013). There are many
other examples, covering pollinators in general, or specific
to bees, moths or birds.
Where citizen science data have been systematically
collected with standard methods, they can also enable
scientists to begin to distinguish the relative importance of
possible drivers of decline. For example, Bates et al. (2014)
showed a negative effect of degree of urbanization on the
diversity and abundance of moths in gardens, based on
the citizen science Garden Moth Scheme in the UK (www.
gardenmoths.org.uk).
TABLE 6.4.6.3
Centres of information, research and knowledge exchange around the world Global examples of citizen science
projects that monitor pollinators. This Table gives examples to illustrate the range of possibilities. It is not exhaustive (see
text for indication of the number of pollinator monitoring schemes that involve volunteers).
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6. RESPONSES TO RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES ASSOCIATED
WITH POLLINATORS AND POLLINATION
Project name Geographic scope Number of participants Brief description and reference
The Great Sunflower
Project
Insect recording
schemes. Example:
Bees Wasps and
Ants Recording
Scheme (BWARS)
New Zealand Nature
Watch Hymenoptera
project.
US
Schemes in
several countries,
including the
UK, Netherlands,
Belgium.
New Zealand
Over 100,000 people
signed up. Data
submitted from 6,000
sites.
BWARS (UK):
About 50 regular
recorders
25 members in the first
year. (Ward 2014)
Seiyou status Hokkaido, Japan Over 140 participants in
the years 2007-2011.
Social wasp
and bumblebee
monitoring in Poland
Volunteers count insects and birds visiting flowers in their back
gardens, following a standard methodology. Data are used to map
urban pollination services.
www.greatsunflower.org
Volunteer recorders, often highly skilled amateur entomologists,
submit ad-hoc records of species, which are validated and verified
by experts, and collated in national distribution maps.
www.bwars.com
Online community of volunteer recorders. Identifications are open to
be validated and queried by others; anyone can be an expert.
http://naturewatch.org.nz/
Participants monitor and destroy spring queens of the invasive
bumblebee Bombus terrestris. Scheme running 2006-2014.
(Horimoto et al. 2013)
http://www.seiyoubusters.com/seiyou/en/
Poland 50 volunteers Standard transect counts to monitor bumblebee and wasp
community composition (50 species) at 40 agricultural or garden
sites, every 20 years. Operating 1981-2020.
SPIPOLL (France) France 1,137 Following a standard protocol, volunteers photograph all insects
visiting a flower of their choice over a 20 minute period. Pictures are
identified online by volunteers (Deguines et al. 2012) www.spipoll.org.
Monarch Larva
Monitoring Scheme
Iingcungcu Sunbird
Restoration Project
Earthwatch:
Butterflies and
bees in the Indian
Himalayas
People, Plants and
Pollinators: Uniting
Conservation
and Sustainable
Agriculture in Kenya
“Guardiões da
Chapada” Chapada
Guadians
USA, Canada,
Mexico
City of Cape Town,
South Africa
Kullu Valley,
Himachel Pradesh,
India.
Kenya: Kerio Valley,
Kakamega Forest,
Taita Hills
Brazil: Chapada
Diamantina, Bahia
Over 1000 sites since
inception in 1996,
multiple volunteers per
site
Eight schools
Three expeditions a year
since 2012. So far 88
volunteers have taken
part.
> 50 farmers and >100
schoolchildren involved
in direct monitoring
>50 tour guides and >
100 volunteers in 2015
(the first year)
MLMP volunteers collect data on monarch egg and larval densities,
habitat characteristics, and parasite infection rates. (Oberhauser
and Prysby 2008)
http://www.mlmp.org/
The aim is to relink broken migration routes for sunbirds across
nectar-less urban areas by planting bird-pollinated plants on school
grounds and involving learners in restoration and bird monitoring.
http://academic.sun.ac.za/botzoo/iingcungcu/
Volunteers monitor bees and butterflies visiting fruit crops at
different elevations and the diversity of other flower resources.
http://earthwatch.org/expeditions/butterflies-and-bees-in-theindian-himalayas
Volunteers document and monitor flower-visiting insects on specific
crops and plants that of high value to the community and/or for
pollinators. Over 1000 pollinator species documented on some
farms.
Volunteers upload pictures of flower-visitor interactions to the
project webpage and/or identify the species. The information will
be used to build a database on the distribution of plants and flower
visitors in the Chapada Diamantina region.
http://www.guardioesdachapada.ufba.br/
https://www.facebook.com/Guardi%C3%B5es-da-
Chapada-486135114871905/timeline/