A crowdsourcing approach to collecting photo-based insect and plant observation records

This project does not have specific themes, such as target species. Instead, the themes are chosen by regional project managers, who have their own targets, motivations, and purposes. Thus, the project was designed to include a variety of approaches, have different goals, and involve many scientific disciplines. Increasing participation in citizen science projects is essential, and devising strategies on how to attract participants and deciding which themes will enhance participation are critical challenges.

We have provided the platform (described in the Sampling methods section) of an internet-based photo-collection system for regional managers. We help regional managers to arrange data collection events, but the data collection itself is handled by the regional managers. For example, the manager could be a natural history museum curator who is interested in organizing nature walks that incorporate photography, or an environmental non-profit organization that is conducting a survey of alien invasive species around a locality. Each regional manager arranges the data collection method, recruits participants, and posts photos to our system via e-mail. Those e-mails are then automatically handled by the system and are stored in the system’s data server.

JSPS KAKENHI grants no. 15K12154 and no. 24651040.