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COVID-19 lockdown measures impacted citizen science hedgehog observation numbers in Bavaria, Germany.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to temporary changes in human-animal interactions due to changes in human activities. Here, we report on a surge in hedgehog observations during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Germany in 2020, on the citizen science Web portal "Igel in Bayern" (Hedgehogs in Bavaria) in Germany. This increase in comparison with previous years was attributed to an increase in the number of people reporting hedgehog observations, rather than an increase in the number of hedgehog observations made by each observer. Additionally, in contrast to other studies on the effects of a COVID-19 lockdown on observations recorded by citizen science projects, the share of observations made in more urbanized areas during the lockdown time was not higher than the change observed in less urbanized areas. This is possibly a result of the differences in COVID-19 measures between Germany and other countries where preceding studies were carried out, in particular the lack of measures limiting traveling outdoor activities for citizens.

SUBMITTER: Sweet FST

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9204849 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted educational systems worldwide during 2020, including primary and secondary schooling. To enable students of a local secondary school in Brisbane, Queensland, to continue with their practical agricultural science learning and facilitate online learning, a "Grass Gazers" citizen science scoping project was designed and rapidly implemented as a collaboration between the school and a multidisciplinary university research group focused on pollen allergy. Here, we reflect on the process of developing and implementing this project from the perspective of the school and the university. A learning package including modules on pollen identification, tracking grass species, measuring field greenness, using a citizen science data entry platform, forensic palynology, as well as video guides, risk assessment and feedback forms were generated. Junior agriculture science students participated in the learning via online lessons and independent data collection in their own local neighborhood and/or school grounds situated within urban environments. The university research group and school coordinator, operating in their own distributed work environments, had to develop, source, adopt, and/or adapt material rapidly to meet the unique requirements of the project. The experience allowed two-way knowledge exchange between the secondary and tertiary education sectors. Participating students were introduced to real-world research and were able to engage in outdoor learning during a time when online, indoor, desk-based learning dominated their studies. The unique context of restrictions imposed by the social isolation policies, as well as government Public Health and Department of Education directives, allowed the team to respond by adapting teaching and research activity to develop and trial learning modules and citizen science tools. The project provided a focus to motivate and connect teachers, academic staff, and school students during a difficult circumstance. Extension of this citizen project for the purposes of research and secondary school learning has the potential to offer ongoing benefits for grassland ecology data acquisition and student exposure to real-world science.

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COVID-19 lockdown measures impacted citizen science hedgehog observation numbers in Bavaria, Germany.

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