GHTM

Global Health and Tropical Medicine

  • GHTM
    • Vision
    • Mission
    • Governance
    • Scientific Advisory Board
  • News
    • Outreach
    • Events
      • GHTM Sessions
      • Workshops
    • Articles
    • Jobs
  • Research
    • Cross-cutting issues
      • Global Pathogen Dispersion and Population Mobility
      • Drug Discovery and Drug Resistance
      • Diagnostics
      • Public Health Information
      • Fair Research Partnerships
    • Research Groups
      • PPS – Population health, policies and services
      • THOP – TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
      • VBD – Vector borne diseases and pathogens
      • IHC – Individual health care
    • Research in numbers
      • 2020
      • 2019
      • 2018
      • 2017
    • Projects
      • Ongoing Projects
    • Members
      • Population health, policies and services
        • PPS PhD members
        • PPS non PhD members
      • TB, HIV and opportunistic diseases and pathogens
        • THOP PhD members
        • THOP non PhD members
      • Vector-borne diseases and pathogens
        • VBD PhD members
        • VBD non PhD members
      • Individual Health Care
        • IHC PhD members
        • IHC non PhD members
      • Technical / administrative support
  • Publications
  • Education
    • Master Theses
    • PhD Theses
  • Services
Home / Publicações / Using citizen science data to estimate climatic niches and species distributions

Using citizen science data to estimate climatic niches and species distributions

  • Autores: Capinha C, Pereira HM, Tiago P
  • Ano de Publicação: 2017
  • Journal: Basic and Applied Ecology
  • Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S143917911630130X

Opportunistic citizen data documenting species observations – i.e. observations collected by citizens in a non-standardized way – is becoming increasingly available. In the absence of scientific observations, this data may be a viable alternative for a number of research questions. Here we test the ability of opportunistic species records to provide predictions of the realized distribution of species and if species attributes can act as indicators of the reliability and completeness of these data. We use data for 39 reptile and amphibian species across mainland Portugal as a case study. We collected distribution data from two independent sources: a national citizen-science project and a scientific. We measure and compare the climatic niche width of the species as represented by each of the two data sources. Generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) were used to relate a set of response variables describing the species’ morphology, life-history, communication, type of locomotion, habitat and geographic distribution, to observed differences in niche widths. We also performed species distribution models (SDMs) for each of the two types of data using generalized additive models. We found that 12 species had more than 50% of their climate niche covered by citizen science data. Results from GLMMs suggested that the number of grid cells in which a species occurs and its use of forest habitat were positively related to the comprehensiveness of the sampling of climatic niches by citizen science data. Variation in the p of SDMs for both types of data (as measured by the true skill statistic; TSS) was highly similar but SDMs from citizen science data had an overall lower performance. Nevertheless a few species achieved good predictions (TSS > 0.6) using these data. We conclude that species observations in citizen science projects can provide accurate predictions of species realized distributions, however, efforts should be made to identify the conditions under which these data are more likely to provide reliable representations of the species niches.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)

Events

IHMT selected for the pilot phase of the Research Data Repository Service of the FCT

  In order to promote good practices in Open Science with regard to research data and … [Read More...]

Paulo Ferrinho interviewed for the new e-magazine of European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP)

Paulo Ferrinho, professor and Diretor of Public Global Health Departament at the Instituto de … [Read More...]

How can we improve the environmental performance of our laboratories?

  Every day in NOVA's laboratories research is carried out with the consumption of numerous … [Read More...]

PhD student from GHTM attended the India|EMBO Lecture Course

Ronise Silva, a PhD student under the Tropical Diseases and Global Health program at the Institute … [Read More...]

Call for PhD Studentships

The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (IHMT), Universidade Nova de Lisboa (NOVA), through … [Read More...]

IHMT | GHTM – APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

IHMT | GHTM - Applications are open for three research vacancies:   One position - PhD … [Read More...]

About GHTM

GHTM is a R&D Center that brings together researchers from IHMT with a track record in Tropical Medicine and International/Global Health. It aims at strengthening Portugal's role as a leading partner in the development and implementation of a global health research agenda. Our evidence-based interventions contribute to the promotion of equity in health and to improve the health of populations.

Contacts

Rua da Junqueira, 100
1349-008 Lisboa
Portugal
+351 213 652 600
+351 213 632 105

  • Facebook
  • YouTube

Subscribe Newsletter

  • How to get to GHTM/IHMT
  • GHTM Sessions
  • Research Groups
  • Cross-cutting issues
© Copyright 2023 IHMT-UNL Todos os Direitos Reservados.
  • Universidade Nova de Lisboa
  • Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

    Project UID/Multi/04413/2013