[LUM#1] The coming of age of participatory science
Long viewed with suspicion by researchers, participatory science has earned its stripes in the scientific community.
They spend hundreds of hours in nature observing birds, counting butterflies, finding insects, and identifying plants. And yet they are not professional ornithologists, entomologists, or botanists. What do they have in common? These nature lovers put their passion to work in scientific research. This is the principle of participatory science. " Today , knowledge is also developed with the contribution of the general public, " explains Vincent Devictor of the Institute of Evolutionary Sciences in Montpellier. Citizens contribute their skills, energy, and expertise: added value that proves invaluable." A true pioneer in this field, the ecologist completed his thesis 10 years ago on the impact of landscape disturbances on birds using only data collected by volunteers.
A gold mine of data
This principle has long been met with a certain degree of mistrust within the scientific community. Why trust observers who are not recognized scientists? How can we know if this data is reliable? " Of course there are limitations: there are errors, inaccuracies, and uncertainties, but we use statistical tools to correct these biases and ensure that the data is scientifically relevant," explains Vincent Devictor. This has dispelled the doubts of most researchers, who now recognize the value of this approach. " We have entered the mature age of participatory science," says the ecologist. The proof? Since 2004, the sustainable development indicator used at the ministerial level has been based on data collected by volunteer citizens.
Today, citizen science programs are multiplying and volunteers are accumulating thousands of hours of nature observation. This is a gold mine, but we still need to know how to exploit it. " It's not enough to have data to create information, " warns Vincent Devictor. "You also have to ask the right scientific questions to extract the relevant information." And to avoid being buried under an avalanche of data...
Herbonauts, a fun and collaborative project
Creating a scientific database from millions of photos of plants from French herbariums is the goal of the herbarium volunteers. When was the plant collected? Where? By whom? All this valuable information is handwritten on labels. To compile this information into a huge public database, the National Museum of Natural History is calling on the goodwill of botany enthusiasts and anyone who is simply curious. It's a daunting task that would take 500 years if done by one person! "This project has succeeded in transforming a tedious task into something fun that anyone can do," says Florent Arpin-Pont. The volunteer herbonaute has deciphered around a hundred plates of sapindaceae from New Caledonia. This is a valuable contribution for Jérôme Munzinger, the botanist in charge of this mission. "It considerably lightens our own data entry work, allowing us to refocus on other research."
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