Hedgehogs on their way – citizen scientists discover wildlife in their backyard
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1
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Austria
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2
Lower Austrian Nature Conservation Academy (Niederösterreichische Naturschutzakademie), Austria
Introduction
The ongoing intensification of agricultural land use and the increasing soil sealing in (sub)urban areas drastically influence natural habitats of wildlife species. This is not only true for rare and endangered taxa, but also for more common species, which have previously not been considered as affected by habitat loss (Gaston & Fuller 2007). Gardens and public green in rural and urban areas may represent important refugia for wildlife as has been demonstrated for different species (Baker & Harris 2007, Hubert et al. 2011).
As a synanthropic species, hedgehogs live in the close vicinity of human settlements. Despite their popularity only little is known about abundance and population trend in Austria. Although being common in the past, recent studies from England verified the predicted long-term decline of hedgehogs over the last years (Hof & Bright 2016). In Austria the general abundance of hedgehogs remains unclear, but at least one of the two occurring species, Erinaceus europaeus, is classified as near-threatened (Spitzenberger 2005).
To get an estimation of their abundance, one has to take a closer look at those areas, where the species can easily be observed. As private gardens are usually not accessible for scientists, a Citizen Science project offers the opportunity to obtain this information by involving the citizens living there (Roos et al. 2012).
In our Citizen Science project ‚Hedgehogs in gardens’ citizens observe these nocturnal animals with so-called hedgehog tracking tunnels (developed by R. Yarnell, Notthingham Trent University) or report direct sightings in private and school gardens all over Austria. Citizens also provide information on management and structures of the surveyed garden. We aim at investigating the relation of hedgehog presence or absence and garden parameters resulting in the following questions:
1) Can the presence or absence of hedgehogs be related to garden management and existing structures within the garden?
2) Is there a relationship between hedgehog presence or absence and the surrounding land use?
Material and Methods
In the ongoing Sparkling Science project ‘Nature in your backyard’, which has been carried out together with 16 schools from Vienna and Lower Austria, the hedgehog tracking method was tested as one of four different methods to record biodiversity in gardens. Due to the simplicity of this method, it is appropriate for children of different ages. The associated Citizen Science project ‘Hedgehogs in gardens’ invites everyone with access to a garden to observe hedgehogs in gardens all over Austria. A regional network of co-operation partners was established to provide information and material for local citizen scientists. All information (protocols, determination material, contacts, etc.) is available online (http://igelimgarten.boku.ac.at). For data entry, citizens have to register on the website.
Garden survey
In a first step, citizens complete an online garden survey form to obtain relevant information on garden management intensity and structural diversity. Additionally, we ask for a subjective evaluation of the local trend of hedgehog abundance, last hedgehog observation date and if they offered hedgehog food in the garden.
Hedgehog observations
Presence or absence of hedgehogs is recorded with the tracking tunnel. The triangular shaped tunnel must be prepared with bait, non-toxic colour and white paper, and is positioned in the garden for five consecutive nights. Attracted by the bait, the hedgehogs pass through the tunnel and leave their footprints on the paper. The recorded presence or absence data of hedgehogs are uploaded together with scans or photographs of the animals’ footprints for the respective garden. Alternatively, direct observations of hedgehogs can be reported by giving information on date, time, number of observed individuals and photo evidence.
Preliminary results and discussion
In the first year of our Citizen Science project (season 2015) hedgehog observations were carried out in 89 gardens, predominantly in the eastern parts of Austria (Fig. 1); thereof 72 observations contained garden management data. Participating pupils of the Sparkling Science project recorded hedgehog presence in 76 gardens (Fig. 1). The tracking tunnel method worked very well in the Sparkling Science project where teachers and pupils received on-site training and all materials by the researchers. In the Citizen Science project the citizens had to organise the equipment by contacting the co-operating partners or built the tracking tunnels on their own. Less than a quarter of participants set up tracking tunnels (21), while most reported direct sightings (from 68 gardens) of single individuals, mothers and offsprings, or pairs of hedgehogs. As a consequence, the Citizen Science project delivered mostly presence (not absence) data (see Fig. 2).
Considering the results of both projects, hedgehogs could be observed in 72% of all gardens (n=148). If only data from hedgehog tracking tunnels were included (n=86), the detection rate of hedgehogs was 54%. This can be considered as quite a high rate compared to 35-38% reported from an urban garden study in England (Williams et al. 2015). Beside hedgehogs, the second most common footprints observed originated from cats, followed by small rodents. Preliminary analyses of the correlation of garden parameters and hedgehog presence showed that hedgehogs were observed most often in gardens of suburban areas and villages (Fig. 2). Moreover, gardens without solid fences (i.e. accessible for hedgehogs) harbour hedgehogs more often than gardens with dense fencing. This effect had also been stated by Hof & Bright (2009) in Britain. Participants of the Citizen Science project estimated current hedgehog abundance as similar or more frequent compared to the last five years (Fig. 3). However, this assessment might be biased towards people who observe hedgehogs regularly.
In a second step, the effect of the surrounding land use on hedgehog presence will be analysed. Based on these analyses, best-practice examples and suggestions for a ‘hedgehog-friendly’ garden management will be derived. To obtain more presence/absence hedgehog data, the tracking tunnel method will be recommended for private garden owners, schools and youth groups.
Figures
Figure 1. Hedgehog presence/absence data derived from the Sparkling Science (circles) and Citizen Science (triangles) project in 2015.
Figure 2. Hedgehog presence related to urbanization level (data from both projects).
Figure 3. Participants’ assessment of hedgehog abundance over the last 5 years.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful for financial support from the Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy and for support and co-operation of all our project partners. We also thank all the citizen scientists for providing data on garden management and structures as well as for carrying out the hedgehog observations in their gardens. Special thanks go to the teachers, who participate with their students in the Sparkling Science project ‘Nature in your backyard – Citizen Science for schools’.
References
Baker, P.J., and Harris, S. (2007). Urban mammals: what does the future hold? An analysis of
the factors affecting patterns of use of residential gardens in Great Britain. Mammal Rev. 3, 297-315.
Gaston, K.J., and Fuller, R.A. (2007). Commonness, population depletion and conservation biology. Trends Ecol. Evol. 23, 14-19.
Hof, A.R., and Bright, P.W. (2009). The value of green-spaces in built-up areas for western hedgehogs. Lutra 52, 69-82.
Hof, A.R., and Bright, P.W. (2016). Quantifying the long-term decline of the West European hedgehog in England by subsampling citizen-science datasets. Eur. J. Wildl. Res., published online, doi: 10.1007/s10344-016-1013-1
Hubert, P., Julliard, R., Biagianti, S., Poulle, M.-L. (2011). Ecological factors driving the higher hedgehog (Erinaceus europeaus) density in an urban area compared to the adjacent rural area. Landscape Urban Plan. 103, 34-43.
Roos, S., Johnston, A., Noble, D. (2012). UK Hedgehog Datasets and their Potential for Long-Term Monitoring. British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) Research Report No. 598.
Spitzenberger, F. (2005). “Rote Liste der Säugetiere Österreichs (Mammalia)“, in Rote Liste gefährdeter Tiere Österreichs. Teil 1: Säugetiere, Vögel, Heuschrecken, Wasserkäfer, Netzflügler, Schnabelfliegen, Tagfalter, ed. K. P. Zulka, R. M. Wallner and Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft (Wien, Böhlau Verlag), 45-62.
Williams, R.L., Stafford, R., Goodenough, A.E. (2015). Biodiversity in urban gardens: Assessing the accuracy of citizen science data on garden hedgehogs. Urban Ecosyst. 18, 819-833.
Keywords:
Erinaceus europaeus,
Erinaceus roumanicus,
citizen science,
Garden,
land use,
Tracking tunnel,
Hedgehog
Conference:
Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2016, Lunz am See, Austria, 18 Feb - 19 Feb, 2016.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Citizen Science - Quo vadis?
Citation:
Plenk
K,
Stadler
S,
Kelemen-Finan
J and
Winter
S
(2016). Hedgehogs on their way – citizen scientists discover wildlife in their backyard.
Front. Environ. Sci.
Conference Abstract:
Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2016.
doi: 10.3389/conf.FENVS.2016.01.00005
Copyright:
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Received:
14 Jun 2016;
Published Online:
06 Sep 2016.
*
Correspondence:
Ms. Kristina Plenk, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Institute for Integrative Nature Conservation Research, Vienna, Austria, kristina.plenk@boku.ac.at