Volunteers and members of the “Collections Club” of the Field Museum provide a blueprint for how community scientists can help researchers around the world.
Matt von Konrat teaching student volunteers how to digitize museum specimens. Photo by Michelle Kuo (c).
There are over three billion specimens and cultural objects housed in natural history collections around the world—things like fossils, dried plants, and pinned insects. Close to forty million of them are at the Field Museum in Chicago, mostly behind the scenes in a vast library documenting life on Earth.
These collections are used by scientists at the museum and around the world to explore what lived where and when and how living things have changed over time.
However, much of the information about these collections is hard to access, because there are no digital records of it.
Specimens from the “behind-the-scenes collections“ at the Field Museum. Photo by John Weinstein.
Community scientists volunteering at the Field Museum who have formed a Collections Club are helping to solve this problem.
So far, they’ve digitized more than a quarter-million collections items and records.
The Field Museum recently published a scientific paper in the journal NaturalHistory Collections and Museumomics about the work of these community scientists as a record of what they’ve accomplished and as a blueprint for other natural history collections to work with volunteers in their communities.
By the way, the Field Museum prefers to use the term “community scientists” rather than the synonymous “citizen scientists”, in order to emphasize that the work is a community effort. They also wish to be inclusive of all volunteers regardless of their citizenship status. Several community scientists are in fact listed as co-authors of the new.
“What’s remarkable is how the enthusiasm has sustained and grown,” says Matt von Konrat, Head of Botanical Collections at the Field Museum and the lead author of the paper.
“Our surveys show that participants are increasingly motivated by altruistic reasons—they want to contribute to science and support the museum’s mission.
The fact that many of our volunteers are now co-authors on this scientific paper shows how far we’ve come in breaking down traditional barriers between professional scientists and community researchers.”
Since 2015, over 3,800 volunteers have contributed more than 13,500 hours helping to digitize, catalog, and preserve specimens—equivalent to nearly eight years of full-time work. Their efforts have processed over 300,000 scientific specimens, records and objects, making valuable data accessible to researchers worldwide.
“At its core, the Field Museum strives to connect people to the natural world and the human story. The Collections Club reflects this mission by transforming over 300,000 specimens into a digital and physical legacy, providing scientists across the globe with the data they need to understand and protect our biodiversity,”
says von Konrat.
The program’s success has been driven by both in-person and virtual engagement opportunities, particularly through initiatives like WeDigBio (Worldwide Engagement for Digitizing Biocollections) and the Field Museum’s Collections Club. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the program successfully pivoted to virtual participation, maintaining strong community connections when they were needed most.
Community scientists at the Field Museum’s 2019 WeDigBio event curating lichen specimens – a critical process unlocking scientific information from natural history collections. Photo by Robert Salm.
“There were so many dynamics working against us during COVID: sporadic closures and re-openings in Chicago of restaurants, parks, museums, and businesses. The ability for me to continue cataloging and repackaging specimens for the Field Museum was the only constant and sane reference for me; days of the week and working hours had no boundaries. I don’t think any other museum in Chicago had volunteers as dedicated as the Field Museum, and I was happy to be part of the experience.”
says Robert Salm, a volunteer in the Field Museum’s botanical collections.
A Mobile Museum display made by Field Museum Collections Club members Winne and Gwen Blake. Photo by Erryn Blake.
The impact extends beyond adults to inspire the next generation of scientists. In one touching example highlighted in the paper, two fifth-grade students were so inspired by their participation that they created their own “Mobile Museum” to share natural history with other young people. These young scientists are among the paper’s co-authors, demonstrating the program’s commitment to elevating youth voices in science.
According to the Blake family, whose children Winnie and Gwen created the Mobile Museum, “Collections Club makes science tangible, accessible, and real. It shows students that away from a conventional classroom setting, where science can feel like a chore, this program helps in contributing to a global community benefiting countless research efforts. The Mobile Museum was created as an extension of Collections Club to bring the passion for science to kids of all ages.”
Collections Club members Winne (blue shirt) and Gwen (pink shirt). Photo by Erryn Blake.
The Field Museum’s model demonstrates how institutions of any size can engage their communities in meaningful scientific work. The paper provides detailed recommendations and checklists for other organizations looking to develop similar programs.
“This success story wouldn’t have been possible without Chicago’s vibrant media landscape helping us reach new audiences,” said von Konrat.
“From local blogs to major television networks, each platform played a vital role in building this community of scientists.
We hope this model inspires other museums and research institutions to build similar programs.
Together, we are fostering a shared legacy that underscores the value of biodiversity and scientific heritage for future generations.”
The full research paper, published in the journal Natural History Collections and Museomics, provides a comprehensive overview of the program’s development and impact over nearly a decade of community engagement, while setting a new standard for inclusive scientific authorship.
Stay up-to-date with publications and news from the Natural History Collections and Museomics (NHCM) journal on social media on BlueSky, X and Facebook.
Research article:
von Konrat M, Rodriguez Y, Bailey C, Gwilliam III GF, Christian C, Aguero B, Ahn J, Albion Z, Allen JR, Bailey C, Blake E, Blake W, Blake G, Briscoe L, Budke JM, Campbell T, Chansler M, Clark D, Delapena R, Denslow M, Dodinval D, Dux E, Ellis S, Ellwood E, Enkhbayer M, Ens B, Evans NM, Fabian A, Ferguson A, Gaswick W, Golembiewski K, Grant S, Hancock L, Hansen K, Janney B, Jones J, Kachian Z, Kawasaki ML, Kellum K, Leek O, Lichamer A, Maier C, Mast A, Martinec JL, Mayer P, Mladek M, Nadhifah A, Neefus C, Nodulman M, Oliver M, Overberg K, Townsend Peterson A, Qazi-Lampert A, Rothfels C, Ryan ZA, Salm R, Schreiner D, Schreiner M, Tepe EJ, Turcatel M, Vega A, Wade H, Webbink K, Weinand D, Widhelm T, Zwingelberg M (2024) From spectators to stewards: Transforming public involvement in natural history collections. Natural History Collections and Museomics 1: 1-33. https://doi.org/10.3897/nhcm.1.138247
Researchers studying the distribution of species need information about where the plant or animal species in question occurs. This usually requires a field study, which is costly, time-consuming and often CO2-intensive. In addition, not all locations where species occur are accessible to humans, such as high mountain areas. As a result, the full range of species is often not covered and the availability of species information is a major challenge for ecological research.
Social media and citizen science projects offer a great potential to increase this availability. Citizen science refers to the involvement of non-experts in scientific projects. In the case of ecological studies, for example, this is the sampling of species occurrences. Thanks to smartphones – capable of capturing high-quality photos and recording precise locations – the ability to gather and share species information has grown significantly. It’s quite simple: take a photo, save the coordinates, upload it, and researchers can use this data to map species distributions. User-friendly platforms or Apps like iNaturalist have become invaluable for this purpose, enabling researchers and citizen scientists to share and utilize occurrence data to advance ecological understanding.
Process of species occurrence data sampling by citizen science projects.
Although some people are interested in and help with such projects, they do not yet reach a broad mass of people. In our study, we explore the potential of the social media platform Instagram, which is one of the largest social media platforms with 2 billion users worldwide and millions of daily uploads. We hypothesize that even more species occurrence data is being generated on this platform, often without users realising its scientific value.
We searched for Instagram posts from 2021 to 2022 in which the tree species Nothofagus pumilio and the location of the photo can be identified. The deciduous species N. pumilio occurs at the treeline in the southern Andes. The species’ vibrant orange-red autumn colouring, in combination to spectacular landscapes, makes it a popular photo motif for tourists, hikers, and locals alike resulting in numerous Instagram posts. Because treelines are often sensitive to climate change, studying the distribution and dynamics of this species is of particular interest.
Nothofagus pumilio at Mount Fitz Roy, Patagonia (Marina Zvada, 2024 available at:https://unsplash.com/de/fotos/blick-auf-ein-gebirge-in-der-ferne-vMoLf1OrB-k?utm_content=creditCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=unsplash)
Our study began by searching Instagram for specific hashtags related to the species (#nothofaguspumilio and #lenga), as well as for locations through location tags, hashtags, and descriptions within posts. This approach allowed us to identify as many images with N. pumilio as possible, even if the users were unaware of its presence.
To select suitable posts, we focused on those where the species could be clearly identified, the location was described, and landscape elements (e.g. mountains, waterbodies, glaciers, urban and tourist area) are visible in the image, that could also be recognised in satellite imagery. For each post, we mapped at least one point at the location where the photo was taken. Additionally, we included occurrences of N. pumilio visible in the background, such as autumn-coloured treelines. This approach ensured a more comprehensive and evenly distributed sampling of the species’ range. The next image illustrates the sampling process of a post captured at Laguna Capri with Mount Fitz Roy in the background.
Suitable Instagram post (fernando.v.fotografia, 2022, left) and four transferred points with landscape elements (red boxes, right) that helped to identify the location, which is also described in the post with location tag and post caption.
In this way, we were able to generate 1238 Instagram ground truthing points. These points can be directly used in ecological studies. However, it is important to note that our Instagram ground truthing points, like most citizen science data, is spatially biased. This means that locations can only be captured where people have access, leaving remote or high-altitude areas unrepresented.
For this reason, we added a remote sensing method to our study. As this deciduous species forms mono-species forests at the treeline, it can also be identified in satellite imagery. The occurrence data obtained through supervised classification was then validated using the Instagram ground truthing points. This approach allows us to generate less-biased occurrence data for the species across its entire 2000 km latitudinal range.
All 1238 Instagram ground truthing points sampled by our approach (left) and the remote sensing result (right).
Participating in citizen science projects is an essential contribution to research. We encourage you to explore citizen science platforms such as iNaturalist, eBird, or naturgucker, and to include hashtags and detailed location descriptions – ideally with coordinates – when posting your holiday or everyday photos on Instagram. Every contribution helps!
Research article:
Werner M, Weidinger J, Böhner J, Schickhoff U, Bobrowski M (2024) Instagram data for validating Nothofagus pumilio distribution mapping in the Southern Andes: A novel ground truthing approach. Frontiers of Biogeography 17: e140606. https://doi.org/10.21425/fob.17.140606
The island of Cyprus, although considered a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean, is more famous for its beautiful sunny coasts than for its insect fauna. Nevertheless, some visitors of its highly populated beaches, with their observations and curiosity, have provided important information for a species never recorded before on the island: a giant water bug, also known as a toe biter.
Giant water bugs.
Scientists Michael Hadjiconstantis from the Association for the Protection of Natural Heritage and Biodiversity of Cyprus, Iakovos Tziortzis from the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus, and Kadir Boğaç Kunt from the Cyprus Wildlife Research Institute collected information and specimens from an increasing number of records of the giant water bug on the east coastline of the island in late spring and summer of 2020 and 2021. The species, known for inhabiting ponds and slowly moving freshwaters, had never been recorded on the island before, although established populations are known in adjacent Mediterranean countries such as Greece, Turkey, and Israel.
Locations of the reported Giant water bug sightings in Cyprus.
Also referred to as Electric light bug, this giant water bug is described as a vicious hunter, praying on invertebrates, fish, turtles, and even birds. What is even scarier, as the largest European true bug and the largest European water insect and measuring up to 12 cm, it has a reputation of inflicting very painful bites when handled carelessly.
A giant water bug found in Paralimni.
Its appearance, mainly on the eastern coastal front of the island, was initially recorded by swimmers, who were surprised by the fearsome looks and size of the bug. They either directly contacted the experts or published photos and videos online, mainly on Facebook groups related to biodiversity. The authors collected some of the specimens for further study. They also proceeded with an extensive online search on relevant online observation platforms (i.e. iNaturalist) in order to track any other reports of the species on the island. In addition, they sampled nearby wetlands, but did not spot the bug. End to end, a total of seven sightings were eventually recorded: five from social media and two after direct communication with the author team. Two specimens were obtained and examined morphologically to verify the species. The observations were recorded in a research article in the open-access journal Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa”.
A giant water bug found in Paralimni.
Having in mind that the toe biter is an iconic species accompanied by creepy stories concerning its encounters with humans, the authors assume that it is unlikely that it had gone unnoticed for too long. They consider it possible that several migration events might have been triggered in a short period of time by nearby countries hosting the species, such as Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. The specimens could have been transferred by wind or sea currents, as assumed by other researchers, or could have been driven by a decrease in food resources in their initial area of distribution.
Despite the number of recordings in a short timeframe, no conclusions can be drawn for the moment on the establishment of a population of the species on the island. This is further to be investigated, and as the initial recording of the species, citizen science can have an important role in this. The authors urge the public to be alert: “Naturalists looking for alien-like critters can provide valuable information on the presence and a possible establishment of the species through citizen science.” Until then, they warn: “Cypriots should keep their eyes open and their toes out of the water”.
Research article:
Hadjiconstantis M., Tziortzis I., Kunt KB (2023). On the importance of citizen-science: first records of the Giant water bug Lethocerus patruelis (Hemiptera, Belostomatidae) in Cyprus. Travaux du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle “Grigore Antipa” 66 (2): 291–299. https://travaux.pensoft.net/article/94457/
Through the collaborative efforts of botanists and citizen scientists, these plants have been rediscovered after decades, some even after more than a century.
Deep in the tropical Andes are hiding plants that were discovered and then forgotten; plants that we knew almost nothing about. Now, thanks to the combined efforts of botanists from Germany, Ecuador, Peru and Costa Rica and amateur plant enthusiasts, these plants have been rediscovered, some of them after more than 100 years. The findings were described in the open-access journal PhytoKeys.
Nasa hastata. Photo by P. Gonzáles
The plants belong to Nasa, a genus from the Blazing Star family (Loasaceae) that has long caused headaches to scientists as its delicate but painfully urticant leaves make it difficult to collect. Most of them are rare, highly endemic, and only around for short periods, which makes them even more unlikely to end up in a herbarium collection.
Luckily, today’s scientists don’t have to rely on herbaria as their sole source of material and clues. Thanks to the advent of global networking and the increasing use of free data repositories, there is a lot more biodiversity data now that is available to use and easily accessible, for example as geo-referenced occurrence records and photos. Citizen science platform iNaturalist, where users can, among others, post photographic occurrence records, has turned into a valuable tool for biodiversity scientists, and plays a significant role in the rediscovery of these Andean plants.
One notable species, Nasa colanii, had only been recorded once, in 1978, until the research team came upon a photograph from 2019. This scarcity in records might have to do with the fact that the plant grows in a highly inaccessible region: in a cloud forest in the buffer zone of Peru’s Cordillera de Colán National Sanctuary, at an elevation of 2605 m.
A flowering branch of Nasa colanii. Photo by A. A. Wong Sato
Another species hadn’t been reported for approximately 130 years when iNaturalist users confirmed its existence in 2022 by uploading photographs. Nasa ferox had been known for centuries, but it didn’t get its scientific description until 2000. “Given the location of the park close to the [Ecuadorian] city of Cuenca, and the fact that the important road 582 goes through the park makes it particularly surprising that the species has not been reported in such a long time, even more so if we consider the numerous botanical expeditions that have been carried out in the general region,” the researchers write in their paper. In fact, only a small population of about ten fertile plants of N. ferox has been found, with the plants always growing in sheltered places such as in rock crevices or at the base of shrubs.
Nasa ferox. Photos by E. Segovia
Remarkably, the typical form of Nasa humboldtiana called Nasa humboldtiana subspecies humboldtiana was rediscovered after 162 years, when the research team found a specimen in a conserved remnant of montane Andean forest in the province of Chimborazo, Ecuador.
Flower of Nasa humboldtiana subspecies humboldtiana. Photo by X. Cornejo
But probably the most exciting discoveries happened when the team found species that have been considered extinct in the wild. Two species of Nasa, namely N. hastata and N. solaria, were believed to share this fate, both from the Peruvian Department of Lima, a comparably well sampled area, given the proximity to the national capital. Until very recently, both species “remained unknown (or almost so) in the wild.” Earlier attempts to recollect these species near their type localities where they have been found some 100 years ago failed and it needed the help of iNaturalist to reveal that they are still present in the area.
Nasa solaria. Photo by P. Gonzáles
Nasa hastata was recently rediscovered, after, for the first time, photos of living plants showed up taken by the sister of one of the authors. Only a handful of plants have since been reported from two sites, some 7 km apart. Similarly, a few dozens of plants have been found so far from N. solaria occurring in four small relict populations in remnants of forest that once covered larger areas in this region.
Flower of Nasa hastata. Photo by P. Gonzáles
Observations uploaded to iNaturalist also revealed important information on another species, Nasa ramirezii,providing the first photographs of living plants from Ecuador and the first data on its exact location.
“All these discoveries serve as a reminder that even well-studied regions harbor diversity that can so easily remain overlooked and unexplored, and point to the role of botanists in documenting biodiversity which is an essential prerequisite for any conservation effort.” leading author Tilo Henning from the Leibniz Center for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) says.
“Hopefully, as more scientists and members of the public contribute to the database, and more professionals get involved in the curation, more undescribed or ‘long lost’ taxa will be found. Our examples of the rediscovery of Nasa ferox after 130 years and Nasa hastata after 100 years, both ‘found’ on iNaturalist underscore this point,” the researchers say in their study.
Original source:
Henning T, Acuña-Castillo R, Cornejo X, Gonzáles P, Segovia E, Wong Sato AA, Weigend M (2023) When the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence: Nasa (Loasaceae) rediscoveries from Peru and Ecuador, and the contribution of community science networks. PhytoKeys 229: 1-19. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.229.100082
A citizen science project in Italy had high school students monitor the activities of ambrosia beetles, catching them with traps made from recycled plastic bottles.
While invasive alien species (IAS) represent a growing threat to global biodiversity and ecosystems, public awareness of them hasn’t seen a significant increase. Many researchers believe informing people about IAS is an essential long-term investment to counter biological invasions; in particular, “learning by doing” is an extremely effective method for involving new audiences, such as students.
Map of the study area (the Veneto Region) indicating the high school locations.
About 500 Italian students aged 11-18 took part in a citizen science project that led to new geographical records of two alien species of ambrosia beetles considered to be quarantine pests by the European Union. Dr. Fernanda Colombari and Prof. Andrea Battisti of the University of Padova have described the results in a paper in the open-access journal NeoBiota.
The project involved schools located in urban areas in north-eastern Italy and aimed to connect environmental education and experiential outdoor learning through lectures, videos, reports, and large-scale surveillance of ambrosia beetles. The students used plastic bottles and hand sanitizer to trap ambrosia beetles in their school grounds. They then assessed their abundance, looking at the different species. Before and after the educational activities, their knowledge and awareness of IAS were tested using simple anonymous questionnaires.
Schematic representation of a plastic bottle trap filled with hand sanitizer as attractant
“Our study aimed to both educate students and collect scientific data at sites such as schools where surveillance for potentially invasive ambrosia beetles is not usually conducted, or where it is sometimes misunderstood,” Dr. Colombari and Prof. Battisti write in their paper.
Identifying the specimens collected by the students, the authors found that IAS amounted to 35% of total catches. Remarkably, two out of the four alien species caught, Cnestus mutilatus and Anisandrus maiche, were recorded for the first time in Europe thanks to this study.
Furthermore, questionnaire results showed that the students acquired greater knowledge and increased their awareness and interest in IAS by more than 50%. After the experiment, most of them were interested in learning more about the negative effects of the introduction of IAS and practices to limit their spread.
This study shows that citizen science can successfully involve school students, giving them an opportunity to contribute in an effective early detection of IAS, as most first records occur in cities or suburban areas. The results also point to the primary role of education, which is as a major driver of change in tackling sustainability challenges. Moreover, as students bring home the message and share it with their relatives, the process supports intergenerational learning and enlarges public collaboration.
A plastic bottle trap filled with hand sanitizer as attractant. Photo by Dr Fernanda Colombari
“People are often unaware of the role they have in the entire invasive process,” the researchers write in their study. Citizen science projects like this one are more than a reliable tool for collecting scientific data; they also help engage the public and spread awareness of biological invasions, eventually contributing to the creation of more efficient management strategies.
The monitoring programme in this study was conducted in the context of the European project HOMED (Holistic management of emerging forest pests and diseases), which has developed a full panel of scientific knowledge and practical solutions for the management of emerging native and non-native pests and pathogens threatening European forests. The main results of HOMED’s research are publically available in a special issue in the open-access scholarly journal NeoBiota.
Original source:
Colombari F, Battisti A (2023) Citizen science at school increases awareness of biological invasions and contributes to the detection of exotic ambrosia beetles. In: Jactel H, Orazio C, Robinet C, Douma JC, Santini A, Battisti A, Branco M, Seehausen L, Kenis M (Eds) Conceptual and technical innovations to better manage invasions of alien pests and pathogens in forests. NeoBiota 84: 211-229. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.84.95177
Working with the scientific travel agency Taxon Expeditions, citizen scientists studed specimens, and analyse their DNA in a field camp in the heart of the forest.
Semislugs, or ‘snugs’ as they are affectionately known among mollusc researchers, are like the squatters of the snail world: they do carry a home on their back but it is too small to live in. Still, it offers a sort of protection, while not getting in the way of the worm-like physique of the slug. For reasons unknown, on the island of Borneo, which is shared among the countries of Brunei, Malaysia, and Indonesia, most slugs are of the semislug type. The genus Microparmarion there consists of around 10 semislug species, most of which are found in the cooler forests of the mountains. So, when citizen scientists discovered a Microparmarion in the hot lowland forest of Ulu Temburong National Park, Brunei, as part of their expedition, they were surprised.
A team of citizen scientists in the Brunei forest, searching for slugs and snails.The type locality of the new species.
For the past years, the scientific travel agency Taxon Expeditions, in collaboration with Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) has been organising biodiversity discovery trips for scientists, students, and laypersons to this forest. On the first trip, in 2018, during a night walk, participant Simon Berenyi, who runs an ethical pest control company in the UK, reached up to a dead leaf suspended over the trail. Everybody—the other participants, even the resident snail expert—had ducked and passed underneath this dead leaf without so much as giving it a glance. But something on its surface caught Simon’s eye. “Oi, is that a slug?” he exclaimed, and picked a slimy, well-camouflaged mollusc off it.
Microparmarion sallehi.
At the time, the team’s zoologists already suspected it was a new species – nothing like it had ever been found in this corner of the island. But that single specimen was not enough to publish its description as a new species. Over the years, successive expeditions to the same area came up with several more specimens of the same species, which made it clear that it was really a species never seen before.
On the 2022 expedition, a team composed of UBD students Nurilya Ezzwan and Izzah Hamdani and citizen scientist Harrison Wu from Virginia, USA, finished the description. Using the portable lab that Taxon Expeditions always carries with them, the team studied the animals’ shell, reproductive organs, and DNA, and prepared a paper for the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal, where it was published this week.
As usual on Taxon Expedition trips, on the last night the team voted on the scientific name for the new species. With an overwhelming majority, the ‘snug’ was named after Mr. Md Salleh Abdullah Bat, the field centre supervisor, who would retire just weeks after the team left. Mr. Salleh himself agrees that it is indeed a very fitting farewell gift.
Research article:
Schilthuizen M, Berenyi S, Ezzwan NSMN, Hamdani NIAA, Wu H, De Antoni L, Vincenzi L, de Gier W, van Peursen ADP, Njunjić I, Delledonne M, Slik F, Grafe U, Cicuzza D (2023) A new semi-slug of the genus Microparmarion from Brunei, discovered, described and DNA-barcoded on citizen-science ‘taxon expeditions’ (Gastropoda, Stylommatophora, Ariophantidae). Biodiversity Data Journal 11: e101579. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.11.e101579
Costus prancei, one of the 18 newly described species in Costaceae.
I am a retired government bureaucrat who worked for 40 years as an administrator in state and federal taxation. I have absolutely no formal training in botany, but now I find myself as an active participant in a major taxonomic revision and a coauthor in the publication of 18 new species in a plant family called Costaceae. This is the story of how my gardening hobby turned into an avocation and led me to work with some of the premier botanists in the world. It is also the story of how I have met several other plant enthusiasts from countries throughout the tropics who have contributed so very much to our work. I write this story in the hopes of encouraging more professional scientists to incorporate the observations of such “citizen scientists” in their research, and to encourage these enthusiasts to more carefully document their observations and post their photos and notes to resources like Inaturalist.org.
Costus whiskeycola, one of the 18 newly described species in Costaceae.
My story started about 30 years ago when my wife gave me a rhizome of the white butterfly ginger (Hedychium coronarium) as a Christmas present. I became interested in gingers, species of the family Zingiberaceae, but soon my interests began to focus almost exclusively on the closely related “spiral gingers” in the family Costaceae. I loved the architecture of the plants with their spiral staircase of leaves leading up to a variety of shapes and colors of bracts and flowers. I started collecting any cultivated Costus plants I could find in nurseries or mail-order catalogues. Soon, I learned that only a few species can survive outdoors in the winter where I live, so built a greenhouse.
Costus convexus, one of the 18 newly described species in Costaceae.
My serious interest in Costaceae began after I obtained a copy of the 1972 monograph of New World Costaceae by Dr. Paul Maas. It became my bible.
As I studied his descriptions of the species and applied his identification keys to the cultivated plants, I soon realized that many of the popular Costus species in cultivation had been incorrectly identified. I started doing presentations to garden clubs and posting to online groups. I developed a website called “Gingers ‘R’ Us.”
My “real job” had me traveling to Washington, DC periodically and I always tried to carve out time to visit Mike Bordelon at the Smithsonian Greenhouses in Suitland, Maryland. On one of these trips, I met Dr. Chelsea Specht, who was working at the Smithsonian Institution as a postdoctoral fellow.
Chelsea Specht and Mike Bordelon at the Smithsonian Greenhouses in 2004.
She had written what I believe is the first molecular study in Costaceae in 2001.This opened up a whole new world of interest for me as I tried to understand these new-to-me terms, like “clades” and “phylogenetic relationships”. In this paper she introduced the new generic divisions of the family that were solidified five years later in a more complete phylogenetic study . Chelsea very patiently answered my novice questions about phylogenetic trees and how they relate to the taxonomy of the plants.
Reinaldo Aguilar in 2013 at the type locality of Costus maritimus, now a synonym in the Costus comosus complex.
In 2005 I made my first trip to the New World tropics looking for Costus in its native habitat. On the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, I was incredibly lucky to meet Reinaldo Aguilar, the world-famous “para-taxonomist” who has studied the plants of the Osa for over 30 years. He is is self-taught like me and does not have a botanical degree, but has coauthored many scientific articles. He worked closely with the late Scott Mori of the New York Botanical Garden and was honored in a 2017 article in NYBG Science Talk.
That first trip to Costa Rica had me hooked. I fell in love with tropical forests and over the next few years made trips to several other Latin American countries as well as back to Costa Rica. Always, my focus was on Costus and the other members of its family.
Along the way, I met several “unsung heroes” in the plant world, like Marco Jiménez Villata, whom I met in the town of Zamora in southern Ecuador. Marco specializes in orchids, but he is also a generalist and knows a lot about the plants of southern Ecuador. He (now retired) was a school administrator and had traveled to many remote villages in the province and was always on the lookout for interesting plants. I have traveled with Marco and his son Marco Jiménez León several other times and we have become good friends.
Marco Jimenez and son Marco with Costus convexus.
In 2015 we went to the type locality of the species Costus zamoranus and took the first photographs of this species. At that trip, Marco showed me an area of high elevation near the Podocarpus National Park, where I found an unusual-looking Costus that we are now describing as Costus oreophilus. He also showed me unexplored places where I found another new species, Costus convexus. I made sure we credited him with his role in the discovery and documentation of those new species in our publication in PhytoKeys.
I have also traveled several times in Panama and Ecuador with another very well known, but non-doctorate plant enthusiast – Carla Black. Carla is the president of the Heliconia Society International, an organization uniting enthusiasts (scientists and non-scientists) in the order Zingiberales.
Carla Black with Juan Carlos Amado on the old Camino Real.
In 2015 we searched for the critically endangered Costus vinosus. We found a few plants growing deep in the forest of the Chagres National Park along an old Spanish trail used to transport gold to the Atlantic coast. There is still a mystery regarding the true form of the flower of C. vinosus, and I am in touch with another Inaturalist observer who has found it (not in flower) in the mountains northeast of Panama City. He will let me know when he finds it in flower!
Costus callosus, one of the 18 newly described species in Costaceae.
In 2019 Carla and I visited the “Willie Mazu” site in Panama to photograph and study the new species Costus callosus, and in Santa Fé de Veraguas, we looked for a species proposed by Dr. Maas that is now described as Costus alleniopsis.
My serious collaboration with Dr. Maas began in 2017, when I was preparing for a trip to Oaxaca in southern Mexico. He asked me to be on the lookout for two species of Costus from that region that he had identified as new based solely on his examination of herbarium specimens, without any good data on the floral parts.
By that time, I was posting my Costus observations on Inaturalist.org and using that resource to look for interesting plants. I also used it to find plant people to contact for local information. For this Mexico trip I found a huge number of observations posted by Manuel Gutiérrez from Oaxaca City.
Manuel Gutiérrez photographing the plant that turned out to be Costus sepacuitensis.
I found that he had extensive knowledge of the Chinantla region in the mountains east of Oaxaca City and had worked with the indigenous tribe there. Together, we explored the indigenous lands of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla.
We found many plants in flower of what Dr. Maas wanted to describe as Costus alticolus. We also found the species he planned to describe as Costus oaxacus, but I later found the same species in Guatemala, already described as Costus sepacuitensis.
Later I learned of the plans to prepare a complete revision to the taxonomy of the New World Costaceae. Together with Paul and Hiltje Maas, we spent several days at the Naturalis Herbarium in Leiden, comparing my photos against the hundreds of Costus herbarium specimens there. I had a long list of species that was curious about, and we were able to get through it and figure out what questions remained, even though we had not come up with all the answers.
Dave Skinner and Paul Maas discussing some Costus spp. in Leiden in 2017.
It was soon apparent that there are major changes needed in the taxonomy and nomenclature of these plants, and that information from the field would be an essential supplement to the observations made from the herbarium specimens.
Paul and Hiltje Maas in Leiden in 2017.
In 2016 I visited the type locality of Costus laevis in central Peru. I was surprised to find that the plants there are nothing at all like the Costus laevis of Central America, but match perfectly to the herbarium specimen that was deposited in Spain over 230 years ago. It was clear to me that the herbarium specimen designated as the type had been misinterpreted. I wrote an article explaining the problem – but I had no idea what the solution might be.
Dr. Maas agreed that there was a problem with that species that we eventually resolved. This resolution will be a part of the forthcoming revision of the New World Costaceae that is in preparation, nearing completion.
Another major problem involved the Costus guanaiensis complex. Paul and Hiltje, along with Chelsea, had visited the New York Botanical Garden Herbarium, where the holotype of that species is held, and realized that it had been misinterpreted due to the lack of a good flower description. What had been identified as Costus guanaiensis in the herbarium was actually a completely different species that Maas had planned to describe as a new species.
Dave Skinner with a plant in cultivation of Costus gibbosus at Rio Palenque Science Center, Ecuador.
The entire C. guanaiensis complex needed name changes and redefinitions of species boundaries, ultimately resulting in the description of Costus gibbosus that is published in PhytoKeys. The resolution of the other members of that complex will be explained in the forthcoming revision. Over the next several years, Paul and I exchanged 1,626 emails (yes, I counted them – with the help of MS Outlook) pounding out the details of the changes needed in the taxonomy of New World Costaceae. In collaboration with him, I made many more field trips to resolve the remaining questions we had.
My extensive collaboration with Paul Maas has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my lifetime. He has taught me so much about the rules of nomenclature and the process of describing a new species. The one thing he could never teach me was his almost uncanny ability to look at a dried herbarium specimen and make a determination of the species. I suppose that only comes from experience as he has examined over 11,000 specimens of Costaceae that will become our list of exxicatae when the full revision is published.
I should not fail to mention my time working with Dr. Thiago André. In 2014 I flew to Rio de Janeiro and then Thi and I, along with his academic advisor and another student, went to the state of Espirito Santo to look for the endangered species Chamaecostus cuspidatus. Thi has been our expert in that genus and has helped with the review of the new species published in PhytoKeys, Chamaecostus manausensis. In 2014 he was still finishing his doctorate and was in process of preparing a molecular phylogeny and morphological study of the species complex of Chamaecostus subsessilis.
Thiago André with Chamaecostus cuspidatus in 2014.
Thi and I have stayed in close contact, and he came to Florida one year to visit in my home and see the Costaceae in my private garden, Le Jardín Ombragé. He is now a professor at the Universidade de Brasília.
Finally, I should discuss my collaboration with Eugenio Valderrama and the other members of the Specht Lab at Cornell University. In 2018 I went to Cornell to visit Eugenio and we discussed the sampling to be used in the molecular phylogeny that will be a very important part of the full revision when it is published.
Eugenio Valderrama and Chelsea Specht with Costus convexus.
At Cornell, Eugenio produced a novel baiting schema for extracting specific genes from across all Costus species and in 2020 published a paper. With further sampling, another paper was published in 2022 to reveal interesting data on a whole package of pollination-related characters, and how they show evidence of convergent evolution. Eugenio’s phylogenies very well support the new species we are publishing in PhytoKeys, and the full molecular phylogeny will be included in our full revision when it is published.
Eugenio checking out a Renealmia sp. Antioquia, Colombia 2022.
Just this past December I went to Colombia to attend the Heliconia Society Conference at Quindío, and Eugenio and I each made presentations there about our work with Costaceae. Then we traveled together to investigate several other interesting species of Costaceae, including the new species Costus antioquiensis, and a strange yellow bracted form of Costus comosus found in the species-rich area of San Juan de Arama in Meta.
How did I know to look there? An observer, a citizen scientist, had posted his records and photos on Inaturalist.org. I have my account set to filter all Costaceae and send me a daily email with all the new postings of the family, and this plant will now be appearing as a sample in a molecular phylogeny and as an observed species in a monograph.
I hope this blog article will provide some background and insight into what I think must be an unusual collaboration between a citizen scientist and the much more qualified lead authors of our PhytoKeys article describing eighteen new species in Costaceae. It has certainly been a rewarding experience for me, and I hope other plant enthusiasts will be encouraged to share their observations on forums like Inaturalist.org, providing detailed and accurate information and photos. At least for the one plant family I have some expertise in, I will continue to monitor and curate those observations on Inaturalist.
André T, Specht CD, Salzman S, Palma-Silva C, Wendt T (2015) Evolution of species diversity in the genus Chamaecostus (Costaceae): Molecular phylogenetics and morphometric approaches. Phytotaxa 204(4): 265-276. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.204.4.3
Maas, P. J. M. (1972). Costoideae (Zingiberaceae). Flora Neotropica 8, 1–139. doi: 10.1093/aob/mch177
Maas PJM, Maas-van de Kamer H, André T, Skinner D, Valderrama E, Specht CD (2023) Eighteen new species of Neotropical Costaceae (Zingiberales). PhytoKeys 222: 75-127. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.222.87779
Salzman S, Driscoll HE, Renner T, André T, Shen S, Specht CD (2015) Spiraling into history: A molecular phylogeny and investigation of biogeographic origins and floral evolution for the genus Costus. Systematic Botany 40(1): 104–115. https://doi.org/10.1600/036364415X686404
Skinner D (2008) Costus of the Golfo Dulce Region. Heliconia Society Bulletin 14(4):1-6
Skinner D and Jiménez M (2015) Costus zamoranus: An endemic species to Zamora-Chinchipe Province in Southeastern Ecuador. Heliconia Society Bulletin 21(3):4-9
Skinner D (2016) Following Ruiz. Heliconia Society Bulletin 22(4): 7–14.
Skinner D and Black C. (2016) Search for the Mysterious Lost Plant (Costus vinosus). Heliconia Society Bulletin 22(3):1-3
Skinner D (2019) A Tale of Two Costus (Costus sepacuitensis) and Costus cupreifolius) Heliconia Society Bulletin 25(1):1-3
Specht CD, Kress WJ, Stevenson DW, DeSalle R (2001) A molecular phylogeny of Costaceae (Zingiberales). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 21(3): 333–345. https://doi.org/10.1006/mpev.2001.1029
Specht CD, Stevenson DW (2006) A new phylogeny-based generic classification of Costaceae (Zingiberales). Taxon 55(1): 153–163. https://doi.org/10.2307/25065537
Valderrama E, Sass C, Pinilla-Vargas M, Skinner D, Maas PJM, Maas-van de Kamer H, Landis JB, Guan CJ, AlmeidaA., Specht CD (2020) Unraveling the spiraling radiation: A phylogenomic analysis of neotropical Costus L. Frontiers in Plant Science 11: 1195. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2020.01195
Valderrama E, Landis JB, Skinner D, Maas PJM, Maas-van de Kamer H, Sass C, Pinilla-Vargas M, Guan CJ, Phillips R, Almeida A, Specht CD (2022) The genetic mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of pollination syndromes in the Neotropical radiation of Costus L.Frontiers in Plant Science 13: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.874322
Soil and its macrofauna are an integral part of many ecosystems, playing an important role in decomposition and nutrient recycling. However, soil biodiversity remains understudied globally.
To help fill this gap and reveal the diversity of soil fauna in Hong Kong, a team of scientists from The Chinese University of Hong Kong initiated a citizen science project involving universities, non-governmental organisations and secondary school students and teachers.
“Involving citizens as part of the new knowledge generation process is important in promoting the understanding of biodiversity. Training younger-generation citizens to learn about biodiversity is of utmost importance and crucial to conservation engagement”
– say the researchers in their study, which was published in the open-access Biodiversity Data Journal.
The soil sampling methodology that the students employed in this study. Video by Sheung Yee Lai, Ka Wai Ting, Tze Kiu Chong and Wai Lok So.
Working side by side with university academics, taxonomists and non-governmental organisation members, students from 21 schools/institutes were recruited to collect soil animals near their campusesfor a year and record their observations.
Between October 2019 and October 2020, they monitored and sampled species across 21 sites of urban and semi-natural habitats in Hong Kong, collecting a total of 3,588 individual samples. Their efforts yielded 150 soil macrofaunal species, identified as arthropods (including insects, spiders, centipedes and millipedes), worms, and snails.
Most often, the students found millipedes (23 out of 150 species). They even helped identify two millipede species that are new to Hong Kong’s fauna: Monographis queenslandica and Alloproctoides remyi. The former is usually found in Australia – the researchers suggest it might have been introduced to the area many decades ago from Queensland or vice versa – and the latter has been observed in Reunion and Mauritius.
Two polyxenid millipede species, collected in this study, turned out to had never before been recorded from Hong Kong. Left: Monographis queenslandica and Alloproctoides remyi (right). Image by Sheung Yee Lai, Ka Wai Ting and Wai Lok So.
Millipedes like these two species can accelerate litter decomposition and regulate the soil carbon and phosphorus cycling, while earthworms can modify the soil structure and regulate water and organic matter cycling.
“Before the beginning of this project, the understanding of soil biodiversity in Hong Kong, including the understanding of its contained millipede species, was inadequate”
the researchers write in their paper.
Now, they believe that the identified macrofauna species and their 646 DNA barcodes have established a solid foundation for further research in soil biodiversity in the area.
Their project also serves an additional purpose. Unlike most conventional scientific studies, which are usually carried out by the government, non-governmental organisations or academics in universities alone, this study utilised a citizen science approach through creating a big community engaged with biodiversity. In doing so, it helped educate the public and raise awareness on the use of basic science techniques in understanding local biodiversity.
So, it may have inspired a new generation of future scientists: some students started millipede cultures in their own schools, and one school used the millipede breeding model to participate in a science and technology competition.
This study is a proof that local institutes and high schools can unite together with research teams at universities and perform scientific work, the study’s authors believe.
It “has raised public awareness and potentially opens up opportunities for the general public to engage in scientific research in the future.”
The team hopes that their approach could inspire future biodiversity sampling and monitoring studies to engage more citizen scientists.
***
Research article:
So WL, Ting KW, Lai SY, Huang EYY, Ma Y, Chong TK, Yip HY, Lee HT, Cheung BCT, Chan MK, Consortium HKSB, Nong W, Law MMS, Lai DYF, Hui JHL (2022) Revealing the millipede and other soil-macrofaunal biodiversity in Hong Kong using a citizen science approach. Biodiversity Data Journal 10: e82518. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.10.e82518
California now has two new scorpions on its list of species, thanks to the efforts of two keen-eyed high school students from the Bay Area and the California Academy of Sciences. Harper Forbes and Prakrit Jain, avid users on the community science platform iNaturalist, discovered the new-to-science scorpions while trawling the thousands of observations uploaded by other users in the state.
New species Paruroctonus soda and Paruroctonus conclusus are playa scorpions, meaning they can only be found around dry lake beds, or playas, from the deserts of Central and Southern California. For scientists, conservation managers, and the growing communities of wildlife observers on platforms like iNaturalist, these newly described species provide a better understanding of California’s biodiversity and the places most in need of protection—a cornerstone of the Academy’s Thriving California initiative.
In 2019, Forbes and Jain came across an unknown scorpion species on iNaturalist observed near Koehn Lake—an ephemeral lake in the Mojave Desert—that had remained unidentified since it was uploaded six years earlier.
“We weren’t entirely sure what we were looking at,” Jain says. “Over the next couple years, we studied scorpions in the genus Paruroctonus and learned they frequently evolve to live in alkali playas like Koehn Lake. When we returned to that initial observation, we realized we were looking at an undescribed Paruroctonus species.”
Serendipitously, another unknown scorpion observed in San Luis Obispo County was uploaded to iNaturalist shortly after their discovery in May of 2021. With a few years of arachnid research under their belts, Forbes and Jain knew right away that it was a new species in the same genus. They immediately contacted Esposito to assist, resulting in two new-to-science scorpions—P. soda and P. conclusus—and a published paper in which Forbes and Jain are first authors.
“Harper and Prakrit went through all the steps to formally describe a species, sampling the populations and comparing them with existing specimens in our collection,” Esposito says. “There’s a lot of work involved, but they are incredibly passionate about this research. It’s inspiring to see that their hobby is one that advances biodiversity science.”
P. soda and P. conclusus are both alkali sink specialists, meaning they have adapted to the alkaline basins—dry, salty playas with high pH soils—in which they evolved. Each species has a very limited range and can only be found in the playas where they were discovered: Soda Lake (the former’s namesake) and Koehn Lake. During their summer break, Forbes and Jain visited the lakes to collect specimens of each new species. After scouting the alkali flats during the daytime for habitats most suited for playa scorpions, they set out with their vials and forceps at dusk, as these desert dwellers are primarily active at night. Luckily, most scorpions fluoresce under ultraviolet light, so the researchers used blacklights to scour the open playas while keeping an eye out for their glowing subjects. They also searched the scorpions’ typical hiding places, peering into cracks in the hard clay soil and combing through common alkali sink plants like iodine bush (Allenrolfea occidentalis) and bush seepweed (Suaeda nigra). At the end of each trip, they successfully collected a sample size of both males and females sufficient for the study.
My favorite part of this story that hasn’t been told yet is @calacademy ‘s own @RebaFay & @alisonkestrel first introduced Prakrit to cit sci when his mom turned up at a bioblitz with an enthusiastic 11-year old (?) & I met him a couple of years later at a @HoplandREC bioblitz! https://t.co/Zs8ToYz31b
While the species range for P. soda is small (just a few square miles), it is entirely located within Carrizo Plain National Monument—federally protected land that renders this species safe from human-driven threats. Unfortunately, this is not the case for P. conclusus.
“While no official assessment has been carried out for either species, P. conclusus can only be found on a narrow strip of unprotected land, less than two kilometers long and only a few meters wide in some places,” Forbes says. “The entire species could be wiped out with the construction of a single solar farm, mine, or housing development.”
Habitat of Paruroctonus conclusus at the type locality, taken in July 2021.
Though P. soda seems to be relatively safe compared to P. conclusus, the constant threat of climate change endangers all wildlife, particularly in delicate desert environments. As part of the Thriving California initiative, Academy scientists hope to collaborate with schools and communities throughout the state to conduct further biodiversity research. By harnessing scientific data—including crowd-sourced data from iNaturalist—and providing access to environmental and science learning, the initiative hopes to halt biodiversity loss in the Golden State.
Now high school graduates, this fall Forbes will study evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona and Jain will study integrative biology at the University of California, Berkeley. They will continue their work with Esposito and are currently collaborating on their next major project: a holistic book of California’s scorpions. In addition to their research and academic endeavors, they are excited to get back out in the field to find, collect, and identify more scorpions.
“I will never get tired of going out at night to find a certain scorpion for the first time,” Jain says. “Whether it be solving the mystery of a long-lost scorpion or discovering something new in an unexpected place, a trip to the desert is always a challenge and an adventure.”
***
Research article:
Jain P, Forbes H, Esposito LA (2022) Two new alkali-sink specialist species of Paruroctonus Werner 1934 (Scorpiones, Vaejovidae) from central California. ZooKeys 1117: 139-188. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1117.76872
From the infamous cane toad to the notorious spotted lanternfly, we all know the drastic effects that introduced species can have on both ecosystems and agriculture.
In today’s interconnected world, these alien species are being moved around the globe more frequently than ever before. Hitchhikers and stowaways on ships, planes, and other vehicles can cause irreversible and catastrophic damage to fragile native ecosystems and to us humans, and tens of billions of dollars are spent every year trying to control these invaders.
But one of the greatest problems for researchers and government bodies trying to combat these threats is that it can be incredibly difficult to monitor the invaders even when we know they’re here.
So how on earth is anyone supposed to detect when a new species has invaded?Many of these organisms are small, inconspicuous, and difficult to identify, and by the time they’ve been spotted it’s often already too late to act.
What if there was a way to quickly and easily find invasive organisms all over the world? Enter the world of Citizen Science, where anybody and everybody can produce important scientific data without even leaving their backyard. Just by taking a photograph of an organism and uploading it to a citizen science platform like iNaturalist or QuestaGame, amateurs and enthusiasts can provide scientists with invaluable records from across the globe.
A screenshot from the iNaturalist homepage, captured on July 7, 2022.
Back in 2015, when amateur naturalist Adam Edmonds spotted an unusual praying mantis in his garden, he took a photo and posted it to the Australian citizen science platform BowerBird. When even the local experts didn’t recognise it, a specimen was sent off to mantis specialist Graham Milledge. He confirmed that it was a newly introduced species – the South African Mantis (Miomantis caffra).
Miomantis caffra, an adult female from Victoria, Australia. Photo by Adam Edmonds
Since then, this alien mantis has spread across Australia from Sydney to Perth. And every step of the way, citizen scientists have been there to document its spread.
Last month, all of these citizen science records were compiled by entomologist Matthew Connors of James Cook University (Queensland, Australia) into the first comprehensive report of the mantis’s presence in Australia. Understanding where the species has spread and what impacts it has had on native species is crucial to managing and controlling it.
The introduced South African Mantis (Miomantis caffra) preys on a native Harlequin Bug (Dindymus versicolor) in Geelong, Australia. Photo by Kelly Clitheroe
The research found that the South African Mantis has spread through suburban habitats in three Australian states (Victoria, New South Wales, and Western Australia) and one offshore territory (Norfolk Island). It probably arrived in these regions as egg cases attached to plants and equipment, and it can now be found in high numbers, especially during late summer and early autumn. Despite this, it appears to be highly localised and has only been recorded in suburbia, and furthermore there has not been any noticeable impact on native species.
Miomantis caffra, egg case (ootheca) from Victoria, Australia. Photo by Ken Walker
None of this research would have been possible without citizen scientists – the dedicated community of enthusiasts and amateurs who share their finds with researchers online. Photographs from citizen science platforms and social media sites have been instrumental in showing just how far the South African Mantis has spread. In fact, more than 90% of the records of the species come from citizen scientists, and without them we would barely know anything.
These days, more and more researchers are realising just how useful citizen science can be. As well as tracking introduced species, citizen scientists have rediscovered rare creatures, documented never-before-seen behaviours, and even discovered completely new species.
Miomantis caffra, an adult female from Victoria, Australia. Photo by Matthew Connors
This latest research, published in the Journal of Orthoptera Research, is among a handful of recent studies that have gone a step further though – instead of just being a source of data, the citizen scientists were invited to take part in the entire research process, from data collection all the way through to publishing. After all, they did all of the fieldwork!
Research like this is proof that anyone can be a citizen scientist in today’s day and age – so what are you waiting for?
Research article: Connors MG, Chen H, Li H, Edmonds A, Smith KA, Gell C, Clitheroe K, Miller IM, Walker KL, Nunn JS, Nguyen L, Quinane LN, Andreoli CM, Galea JA, Quan B, Sandiford K, Wallis B, Anderson ML, Canziani EV, Craven J, Hakim RRC, Lowther R, Maneylaws C, Menz BA, Newman J, Perkins HD, Smith AR, Webber VH, Wishart D (2022) Citizen scientists track a charismatic carnivore: Mapping the spread and impact of the South African Mantis (Miomantidae, Miomantis caffra) in Australia. Journal of Orthoptera Research 31(1): 69-82. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.31.79332
