Ecologists often seek long-term data on how the distribution and abundance of species change in response to global change drivers. This data is often sought in museum collections and online databases, yet trends show that the contribution of preserved specimen data to museums is decreasing. Continuous collection efforts are costly and time consuming. Simultaneously the amount of observational occurrences in e.g. GBIF is increasing rapidly. However, many ecologists have largely ignored the role of citizen scientists in collecting occurrence data and examining changes in distribution and abundance. The critique being that citizen science data is less trustworthy, especially for taxonomically difficult groups such as ants (Formicidae). Ants are often overlooked or seen as pests among broader audiences. Few are aware of the key part ants play in the terrestrial world as soil turners, seed dispersers, pest controllers etc. Or that many species, including humans, rely on the services of ants. Furthermore, ants are sensitive to disturbances and temperature and may well be among the first to react to global change drivers. We here demonstrate a solid approach to involving citizens in updating museum collections and determining community assembly and resource preferences in ants across spatial and temporal gradients.
Results/Conclusions
Over the course of a two-year period (2017 and 2018) children and their parents are conducting cafeteria baiting experiments with ants in their backyard and returning their specimens and findings to scientists at the Natural History Museum of Denmark. During the first field season, May-September 2017, over a thousand citizens carried out 360 experiments, of which 287 experiments contained 6,252 individuals. The study collected distribution data on 21 of Denmark’s 29 most common species. Seven of these were found in previously unrecorded locations. The study also uncovered three rare species and one new species for Denmark. We combine this data with newly digitized records of 12,412 specimens from two museums and 1,092 observations from private expert collections to describe changes in the distribution of ants from 1850 to now. With the added baiting experiments for the current dataset we analyzed the effects of habitat, disturbance, temperature and time on shifts in resource preferences among ants. Baiting experiments also shredded light on interspecific antagonistic behaviour between ants. Finally we report an evaluation of the applicability of using citizen science as a tool for ecological research, including the benefits and challenges for both citizens and scientists.