Cycle 7 (2018 Deadline)
Technology and citizen science for creating a solid and participatory biodiversity information system in Hispaniola
PI: Yolanda Leon (yolanda.leon@intec.edu.do), Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo – INTEC, and co-PI Sixto Incháustegui (sixtojinchaustegui@yahoo.com), Grupo Jaragua
U.S. Partner: John Lloyd, Vermont Center for Ecostudies
Dates: November 1, 2018 - April 30, 2021
Project Webpage
Project Overview
 | | Dry forest habitats in Jaragua National Park. Photo courtesy of Dr. Leon |
Despite being part of a global biodiversity hotspot, the Dominican Republic lacks information about its biodiversity at a suitable spatial scale for ecological research, species distribution, and habitat modeling, to influence land-use decisions. As a result, critical habitats are destroyed every day, pushing many species closer to extinction. Few experts and resources exist in-country for acquiring and/or digitizing the data required for such databases. Recently, two online citizen science platforms (inaturalist.org, ebird.org) have amassed vast amounts of geolocated species-level observations for Hispaniola. Also, worldwide herbaria and museum collections are increasingly being shared through common data standard platforms, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) which already includes over 500,000 records for Hispaniola, many geolocated. This project will create a step-by-step protocol for combining these rich datasets into a Hispaniolan species checklist and occurrence database, with a special focus in the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo (JBE) UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, some faunal groups of Hispaniola are underrepresented in available datasets, as they are difficult to observe in the wild. One of such groups are the amphibians, currently considered the most endangered assemblage on Earth, with 98% endemic species. The JBE Reserve is one of the richest in amphibian species for the island, providing refuge to at least 12 endemic frogs and toads.
The goal of this project is to enrich amphibian data occurrence datasets through acoustic monitoring, which is an efficient way to find and study amphibians. All the data generated by the project will provide a valuable tool for decision makers, land use planners, scientists, conservationists, tourism, educators, communities, students, and general public, as well as help enforce species’ and area-based protection laws. For researchers, these data will allow for hypothesis testing of many questions in the areas of biogeography, evolution, and ecology, as well as provide a key historic public resource for natural habitat restoration for immediate use or for generations to come. In the process, the project team will promote and build capacity for biodiversity data management and citizen science, as well as create a greater engagement of the public with nature and the environment that could well be key to its survival.
Development impacts
The project is anticipated to help reduce biodiversity impacts from new developments in the Dominican Republic, ensuring more sustainable growth, by making the biodiversity data (including threatened species) easily viewed and analyzed at the site level scale needed for permitting and environmental auditing process. Second, the project is anticipated to promote transparency and give credibility to environmental authorities by providing objective biodiversity information during controversial developments. With their spatial dimension, datasets from this project are anticipated to help identify resilient areas to climate change , ensuring the long term provision of environmental services for human communities such as drinking water, soil conservation, carbon storage and flood mitigation. In addition, by learning about Hispaniola's rich native biodiversity at the local level, this project is expected to help foster local pride and nature-tourism engagement, work, and benefits to communities. Finally, this project should help accelerate and better spatially target and design future research into biodiversity information that can be relevant to human health, food security, and commerce.
Final Summary of Project Activities
According to the project PI Dr. Leon, this PEER project helped develop citizen science around biodiversity in the Dominican Republic. Its impacts in this regard ranged from basic name recognition of the term, to creating a community around local biodiversity knowledge and appreciation. It also helped provide a means to channel anyone´s interest in nature in a productive way by contributing to science while learning about species that are locally relevant for various community groups and individuals. On-going requests beyond project end to help train in citizen science attest to this success. Two iNaturalist projects created by the project already gather over 3000 for project Reserva de Biosfera Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/reserva-de-biosfera-jaragua-bahoruco-enriquillo) and over 50,000 for Atlas Viviente RD (https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/atlas-viviente-rd). By promoting biodiversity knowledge, its data collection and sharing in the field through the use of smartphones, the project helped create a new public awareness on the local manifestations of biodiversity and the severity and irreversibility of its loss, bringing home the impacts of the global biodiversity crisis. Project staff was able to supply site-specific biodiversity information tailored to different areas, for instance to inform the defense of Cotubanamá National Park against hotel development. Such information proved valuable for local and public empowerment in the defense of natural sites. The project also helped build biodiversity literacy through more formal classroom education opportunities. This was done by developing undergraduate and graduate class modules and practical exercises on biodiversity as well as an informal class for the general public to learn more about Hispaniolan biodiversity in a more structured way. This will ensure learning on these topics well beyond project end. The project helped build national capacity in the complex skill of database creation and management, combining for the first time expertise on taxonomy and data science. As a result, the project team successfully compiled the first biodiversity taxa checklists for Hispaniola (amphibians, reptiles and vascular plants), an Endangered Species checklist for the Dominican Republic and the National Red List of Threatened Species of the Dominican Republic, as well as a woody plant (plantas leñosas) occurrence dataset for the Jaragua Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve of the Dominican Republic. However, the work on biodiversity information showed the team how they were just barely scratching the surface on this topic. Even the relatively simple first step of creating taxa checklists ran into a number of unforeseen complications, given how little most taxa have been studied in Hispaniola. In particular, the finding of two new reptile species by one of the undergrad students in the team during a few field trips to Sierra de Bahoruco speaks to this and the need for more research on Hispaniolan biodiversity. The project also helped influence policy and government decision makers with regards to biodiversity. As a result, today the city of Santo Domingo has an Urban Tree Plan that favors native/endemic species over introduced ones, and other municipalities are beginning to follow suit, requesting help in selecting species for their area of interest. The latest national red list of threatened fauna species, compiled by the Ministry of the Environment, also benefited from quick biodiversity database queries to inform discussions on species distributions and weigh in on decisions on endangerment status. Future editions of this list are expected. The project helped build connections with various actors and sectors of society centered around biodiversity. This included national and international non-governmental organizations, including educational, interest, community groups and research organizations as well as national and local level government institutions and private companies. These connections have already proven useful in extending project activities and benefits beyond project end. In sum, this PEER project provided a solid foundation for future citizen science and biodiversity knowledge growth and empowerment. Publications
Geary, M., Brailsford, C.J., Hough, L.I. et al. Street-level green spaces support a key urban population of the threatened Hispaniolan parakeet Psittacara chloropterus. Urban Ecosyst 24, 1371–1378 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-021-01119-1 Back to PEER Cycle 7 Grant Recipients
|
