Kwinana Rockingham Mandurah Branch
The speaker for our April meeting was KRMB member Daniel Heald, on the topic of the use of citizen science webbased platforms to improve our knowledge of invertebrates. His talk was supported by images downloaded from some of the websites. Numerous citizen science websites have been created to improve knowledge of the natural world. These are especially valuable in the field of invertebrates where many species are unknown, poorly known or yet to be scientifically studied. Enthusiasts are able to post images for the purposes of identification or to record their presence in a location. For example Bowerbird is a site linked to the Atlas of Living Australia. It currently runs only on PCs or laptops—there is no mobile app as yet. Users post images of sightings and assign them to categories, such as plants, invertebrates etc., add a location, assign them to a project and add identification details if available. Experts in the category will then confirm or improve the identification. KRMB has a Project set up in Bowerbird where images taken during field trips can be posted (visit Bowerbird to see posts). A mobile app called QuestaGame is another example, though the quality of the images is not very good. The Atlas of Living Australia, a collaborative national project that aggregates biodiversity data from multiple sources and makes it available on line, is itself a very useful resource. There are also dedicated Facebook groups, set up by groups of enthusiasts with common interests. For example Daniel is a member of the Amateur Entomology Australia Facebook group. These sites are turning up some interesting sightings, for example a posting of an Anthrax sp. Bee Fly parasitising a particular host bee was the first time this had been documented.
However—and perhaps just as importantly—the sites turn up some not-so-welcome sightings, such as an African Mantis that no one knew was here but has since been found in large numbers. An introduced Stink Bug has also been posted, perhaps imported in a shipping container. Occasionally, sightings are posted under the wrong category, for example a Spoon Worm (Ikeda sp., 2m long) was incorrectly posted in the insect group page. BowerBird is for Australian sightings only but overseas postings do occur, e.g. a Botswana Beetle.
Other useful sites include Arachne.org.au, set up by Rob Whyte; it is a good site for getting identification of spiders. Butterfly House, for Australian Lepidoptera, is a site that is useful for identifying butterflies, moths and their caterpillars. Brisbane Insects and Spiders, while set up by a local group includes information that is useful nationally as does the Insects of Tasmania site. Locally, the Friends of Queen’s Park Bushland site is useful.
Daniel concluded by saying that he also uses sites that are specifically for marine invertebrate fauna. Some cover a wide range of fauna while others are specific to a certain family or genus.
Colin Prickett