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Dr Andre Zerger is the Director of the Atlas of Living Australia:
“It's a national biodiversity database, that brings together Australia's biodiversity data. So, basically, a one-stop-shop for biodiversity data.”
The A-L-A is a collaborative, digital and open resource which draws its data from multiple sources.
One major contribution comes from citizen scientists - members of the public who volunteer to collect or analyse data. Out of 125 million species records in the A-L-A, more than 62 million came from members of the public.
“So basically you take a photo if you're on a bushwalk, on a weekend, on you holiday, and you observe something really really interesting, you take a photo of it and the app can help you I-D it. But what's really cool is the photo is also IDed by others, by other folks, so it's basically a social network.”
For citizen scientist Jono Dashper, getting involved has turned his love for nature into a community service.
“I've always had just such a passion for nature and the environment and biodiversity in general, and I've basically had a camera since I was a kid so I've always gone around photographing plants, animals, insects, birds and anything that moves - and doesn't move. And I've kind of got this back catalogue of nearly twenty years' worth of photos. And after kind of learning more about citizen science, I've actually been able to have an outlet to post all that information and data somewhere and actually have a contribution to science.”
Dr Zerger says contributions like Mr Dashper's are vital to maintaining a picture of our vast and "mega-diverse" continent.
“If you can't measure it, you can't manage it. And knowing where our species are moving nationally, where they're declining due to impacts of land clearing, climate change, is really fundamental. But also, invasives. So you know, for example, red fire ants - knowing where they're moving, how fast, is really critical to managing them.”
The A-L-A says that in 2022 alone, citizen scientists contributed more than 9.6 million new records of species occurrence.
Mr Dashper believes the volunteer aspect of citizen science encourages a sense of discovery.
“I've actually found quite a few of these rare snails which are not really very commonly recorded, so being able to document those through these programs is really good, because I understand snails don't get that much funding. So not that many scientists are out there looking for them, or government organisations out there looking for them. So, to have, kind of, just everyday people getting interested in that is really important, because there's obviously so many more everyday people than there are professionals who are able to get out there and look and be paid to do it.”
Paul Flemons is manager of Citizen Science and Expeditions at The Australian Museum.
The museum runs a number of citizen science projects, including, the Australasian Fishes Project, and DigiVol, which relies on volunteers to digitise museum collections.
Mr Flemons says citizen science is not new.
“Citizen science has been around for a long time. I mean, Charles Darwin, if you want to go back that far, he was really a citizen scientist, because he wasn't paid to be doing science, but he was carrying out science in his own time, as a volunteer, if you like. But even back in the sixties we had projects at The Australian Museum, where we had volunteers monitoring and watching for butterflies, as part of a butterfly project back then.”
Now, though, Mr Flemons says everyday people can contribute from the couch - and in their pyjamas if they wish.
There's no doubt smart phones - with cameras and apps connected to the internet - have revolutionised the reach and scope of citizen science.
Jessie Oliver is Executive Officer at the Australian Citizen Science Assocation. She says smartphones can be an educational tool, as well as used for data collection.
“What's really amazing about technology today is that it can be designed with lots of innovations that allows for training of people in different and diverse and fun ways that allows them to gain the experience they need, to actually be able to identify things in a way they may not have been able to before.”
A range of smartphone apps help record frog calls or bird song, or identify plants.
One of the most commonly used is called iNaturalist.
“It helps to identify and filter what it is you're looking at, right as you take a picture of something. And then the community validates that what the AI says is accurate, as whole. And then as it gets a certain number of validations - a certain number of people in the community say yep, they agree, that's what it is - then it goes into what is considered 'research grade', as a dataset.”
Mr Flemons says the perception that data collected by citizen scientists is poor quality is inaccurate.
“Having those quality control engagement processes built into your citizen science projects makes them as effective as having employed scientists involved, in many cases. And there's been a number of studies that show the quality of data captured can be as good as that captured by paid staff.”
Jono Dashper says apps like iNaturalist make it an accessible hobby for any would-be citizen scientists.
“I think nearly everyone really could get involved, as long as you've got a phone with a camera and you're happy to go outdoors and have a look for things, you just have to snap away. And it's just such a great learning process, as well, because you might photograph 5, 10, 20 different plans on a little walk and then you get to actually learn what those plants actually were, and then the next time you go on that walk you go, 'that's right, that's this grevillea or banksia or something'. So I think it's very easy and accessible for people to get into.”
