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https://theconversation.com/myrtle-rust-is-lethal-to-australian-plants-could-citizen-scientists-help-track-its-spread-225681>
"Every weekend, thousands of citizen scientists head into the great outdoors.
If they see an unusual animal, plant or fungi, they take a photo and upload it.
This simple act by bushwalkers with smartphones is, in aggregate, increasingly
valuable to researchers. Half of all records uploaded to Australia’s largest
open-data aggregator, the
Atlas of Living Australia, now come from citizen
scientists – and this number is likely to keep growing.
Citizen science isn’t just useful in gauging how native species are going.
Curious eyes spot invasive species too. The first sighting of the invasive
buff-tailed bumble bee (
Bombus terrestris) in Victoria was reported by a
citizen scientist last year. The first discovery of a virus which turns
woodlice (slaters) iridescent purple came from a citizen scientist. To date,
reports from citizen scientists strongly favour native species. But as we
grapple with damaging new invasive species, we need much more data.
We have been working to track the spread of the lethal plant fungus, which
causes the disease myrtle rust, which can weaken and kill hundreds of our most
loved tree species, including eucalypts, paperbarks, bottlebrushes, tea trees
and lilly pillies. How far has it spread? We just don’t know. We urgently need
more reports from bush tracks and backyards."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
