The European MammalNet Project is born: researchers and citizens collaborate to improve knowledge of mammals in Europe

    IREC leads the European project MammalNet (www.mammalnet.com) to promote the participation of citizens, scientists and wildlife managers in the collection of data on the distribution of mammals.

    Around 250 different species of mammals live in Europe, from shrews to beavers, lynxes, moose and wolves, however the information available on these species is still very limited and fragmented. Scientists can now count on the help of citizens who carry out different activities in nature; Mountaineers, cyclists, naturalists, hunters and fishermen, mushroom pickers and other groups linked to open spaces can become allies of nature and science.

    MammalNet gives continuity to the work started in April 2017 through the project developed by the consortium ENETWILD (www.enetwild.com) whose objective was to collect and generate the first data on the distribution and abundance of wildlife based on traditional documentation sources, but not citizen science.

    Now, the next step that MammalNet will address is to expand the geographic space where the data is collected throughout Europe, and, given the wide extension of territory to which we are referring, it is necessary to approach the project with new, more collaborative perspectives through unconventional data sources. For this, the citizen science it can be an effective tool. Citizen collaboration and the involvement of all those groups or people who can generate very valid data, but which generally do not reach the scientific community, are required. To facilitate data transfer, easy-to-use applications are made available to citizens that allow data to be sent to MammalNet in just a few 'clicks'. The citizen, thus, will participate in an international scientific investigation that promotes open science and that in the future it will give clues on the best way to approach the management and conservation of wildlife in Europe.

    The applications and web tools will be available to the citizens of all countries and allow them to easily send photographs or geolocation data to the MammalNet platform. The collection of these data will help to broadly map the distribution of species and better understand the behavior and status of mammal populations. In addition, the citizen will have the opportunity, in a collaborative way, to identify and validate the species present in the photographic material contributed by other users through our web tools.

    How can you participate?

    Citizens can participate in the scientific project by contributing the data they can collect from mammals that live in their natural habitat. For this, some applications for mobile devices will be made available, as well as web access with citizen scientific tools already developed and tested:

    • The project website (www.mammalnet.com) gives access to all available applications, has online species identification guides with photos and maps of the potential distribution of the species and where there are already confirmed records of the species. It also has games and contests that encourage learning and participation in social networks. To facilitate participation and promote awareness of the environment and care for the environment, the project will maintain active accounts on various social networks (Facebook – MammalNet.ENG; Twitter – @mammalnetEsp; and Instagram – @mammalnet.esp), so that participants may have a direct communication channel to ask questions or comment on aspects that may arise in relation to the initiative and its development.
    • iMammalia: is an application to record observations obtained through mobile phones. Download it on google play or the app store It allows the user to record the presence of animals or their signs in the field using their mobile phone, reporting the location and date of sighting. The user can provide species identification information, you can attach photos to the record to allow its validation or for experts to help you identify the one of which they have doubts.
    • MammalWeb is a web platform that facilitates the management of camera trapping images and the identification of species by citizens. It allows users to register as "trackers" and / or "viewers". Trackers can share the images collected with camera traps and viewers can help by classifying their own photos or those of other users.
    • AGOUTI: web platforms that facilitate the management of camera trapping images with a profile aimed at researchers and managers of natural resources, that promote open science and collaboration between researchers and citizens. This tool facilitates the work of managing the information that researchers need to to be able to organize and analyze the data and, above all, promotes the sharing of this type of information in the open, promoting open science and collaboration between researchers.

    All these tools will allow the registration and validation of the data collected on mammals and will improve the knowledge we have about these species. These data will help to properly conserve and manage mammal populations and biodiversity based on scientific evidence.

    MammalNet