NBI goes Citizen Science

Involving young and old citizen scientists in monitoring habitat use of the critically endangered Northern Bald Ibis (Geronticus eremita)

Project Details

Principal Investigator Dr. Didone Frigerio

Funding BMBWF – Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research

Programme Top Citizen Science, 2nd Call (2017)

Project Duration 01.09.2017 - 31.08.2019

Project Number TCS-02/06

Research Objective

The aim of the project is to investigate the ecological aspects of the habitat selection of the Northern bald ibis, one of the most endangered avian species in the world, by involving interested citizens in research.

Research Question

Which characteristics do the foraging grounds of the Northern bald ibis show?

Methods

Within the main project "Quo volis Geronticus eremita - Social cohesion and excursion area of the Northern Bald Ibises" some individuals of our colony have been equipped with GPS/GSM transmitters. In order to survey the whereabouts of the birds without GPS loggers, we are dependent on the help of volunteers and interested helpers. In order to enable a broad participation, an app has been developed. By mean of this app, interested citizens can collect information about the whereabouts of the NBI and the ecological characteristics of the visited areas. The contributions of all citizen scientists will flow into large datasets contributing to the scientific results of the project and will be disseminated in form of conference contributions and peer reviewed papers.

JOIN OUR RESEARCH!

You can participate in the project as follows:

through the app "WaldrApp"

You can download the app (obtainable for Android and Apple) or directly access the app via the interactive map and actively participate in our research.

Download the manual for the app here.

For more information about the app, please visit birdscience.net.

What happens to my data?

Your entries in the "WaldrApp" are displayed in the interactive map and can therefore be viewed by everyone. The raw data can only be viewed by persons with administrator rights and are stored on the servers of the Citizen Science SPOTTERON platform. The data is only passed on to third parties anonymously (without any user information) and only for scientific purposes. The project does not pursue any commercial goals. Personal data will be kept strictly confidential and will not be passed on to third parties. Full rights of use are granted to the project for the photos of the entries. When using a photo within the scope of the project activity, we always indicate the author (username or display name).

External Project Homepages

Citizen Science at the University of Vienna: The project in a nutshell

Center for Citizen Science

Center for Citizen Science: The project in a nutshell

The project on Österreich forscht

Team

Dott.Dr. Didone FRIGERIO Project leader and management


Mag. Gudrun GEGENDORFER Public relations

Verena PÜHRINGER-STURMAYR, MSc Data evaluation and publication

Christiane STEINBACHER, MSc Supervision of the app WaldrApp, communication with the participants

Cooperation Partners

1.1. Participating educational institutions:

Grammar School Scharnstein, OÖ

1.2. Scientific cooperation partners:

Waldrappteam

1.3. Partners from economy and society:

Naturtierpark Grünau GmbH

Nationalpark Kalkalpen Ges.m.b.H.

SPOTTERON - the Citizen Science System

Contact

Dr. Didone Frigerio

Phone: +43 (0) 7616 8510

Email: didone.frigerio[at]univie.ac.at

Email KLF: office.klf[at]univie.ac.at