Assessment of biodiversity patterns based on iNaturalist observation data from Carinthia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71911/cii-p3-nt-2025221Keywords:
Citizen Science, Seasonality, Land cover, Contribution biasAbstract
This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of citizen science contributions to biodiversity monitoring in Carinthia, Austria, utilizing iNaturalist research-grade observations collected from 2015 to 2022. It investigates potential data collection biases, such as time of day and season, as well as species phenology, including seasonal life cycles, which manifest in temporal patterns of data contributions. Additionally, the study explores how land cover and other variables influence observation counts across 5 × 5 km² grid cells, employing a negative binomial regression model with Eigenvector Spatial Filtering. The temporal analysis also analyzes seasonal shifts in the internationality of iNaturalist contributors in Carinthia. The results reveal significant effects of time of day, season, and land cover on observed species and biodiversity. Most taxonomic families were primarily recorded in forested and semi-natural areas during the summer months. Although artificial surfaces, such as urban fabric, contribute fewer observations in total, they exhibit a bias due to ease of access and longer observation hours during winter, aided by artificial lighting. The study also highlights that iNaturalist contributions in Carinthia during the summer months are predominantly from users who tend to contribute more frequently outside of Austria, suggesting that the summer period attracts more internationally active contributors, such as foreign tourists. This research expands on prior studies of biodiversity monitoring by integrating both local and global scales of contributor behavior.
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