Targeted Species Projects for Volunteers to Increase Early Detection Capacity: The Water Chestnut Mapping Challenge

摘要

Here we present a framework for creating targeted invasive species mapping projects for volunteers, using simple gamification techniques to encourage participation. In Pennsylvania and New York, we chose to focus on water chestnut (Trapa natans) because this species is easy to identify, and it is often feasible to eliminate small populations from newly infested waterbodies. We established a "friendly competition" in which participants would search for water chestnut and report their findings during a specified date range. Online trainings were offered on species identification and submitting data to iMapInvasives, a mobile and browser-based mapping system. During the challenge period, volunteers were kept engaged through up-to-date data tallies and email communication from mapping challenge administrators. At the end, participants with the greatest number of data entries or most locations searched, whether submitting presence or absence information, were announced as winners and received small prizes. The data were shared with regional invasive species managers through email alerts and a summary report. Challenge participants detected water chestnut in new waterbodies and contributed valuable absence data. Over the course of three years in New York (2016-2018), participants discovered 23 new water chestnut infestation locations in 14 waterbodies. In Pennsylvania, over the course of two years (2017-2018), 44 new water chestnut infestation locations in 12 waterbodies were identified. The programs in both states have continued to build on and improve these challenge events by adding additional target species and piloting new ways to keep participants engaged through real-time dashboards and other technologies.