Florian Heigl

Thursday, 04 June 2020 13:17

Forschen im Almtal (Research in the Almtal)

Visitors of the Cumberland game park in Grünau im Amtal (Upper Austria) were invited to use an app to enter sightings and behavioural observations of greylag geese, common ravens and northern bald ibises and thus support research projects and the long-term monitoring of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center (KLF).

Since its foundation in 1973, the KLF (nowadays a core facility of the University of Vienna) has been dedicated to research on the social systems of free-flying birds. Especially three bird species are used as models: greylag goose, raven and northern bald ibis. As some aviaries of the KLF are located in the game park (e.g. free flight aviary of the northern bald ibises), the two institution share a close cooperation.

What was it all about?

The aim of this project was to monitor the spatio-temporal patterns of three model bird species (greylag goose, common raven, northern bald ibis). We wanted to find out, when and where which animals can be found. Do they have preferences for certain places within the game park or do they prefer the company of conspecifics? The free-flying birds of the KLF are individually marked (leg rings, wing tags), which makes it possible for Citizen Scientists to recognize the birds individually.

Who could participate in the research?

Everyone who owns a smartphone and downloads the app "Forschen im Almtal".

How could one participate?

To participate, you needed to download the app "Forschen im Almtal" to a mobile device and log in/register. When visiting the game park in Grünau im Almtal and seeing one of the three bird species (greylag goose, northern bald ibis, raven) citizens could create a spot on a map. Further information could be obtained from the app manual or by contacting the research team.

For school classes and groups of 7 people or more, there was the possibility for a workshop and accompaniment during data recording; more information at: https://naturschauspiel.at/naturschauspiele-startseite/flattern-und-schnattern-im-almtal---buerger-schaffen-wissen-188984.

Publications

Pühringer-Sturmayr V, Rittenschober J, Gegendorfer G, Kleindorfer S, Frigerio D (2023). Assessing quality of contributions to avian monitoring by non-scientists: a case study on individually banded wild birds. Environ. Res. Lett. 18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd073

Hirschenhauser, K., Frigerio, D., & Neuböck-Hubinger, B. (2022). Science Education and Beyond: Citizen Science in Primary School Potentially Affects Conceptual Learning and Socio-emotional Development. In A. Volvlas (Hrsg.), Citizen Science - Methods, Approaches and New Perspectives. Intechopen. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107532

Specimen report

The most important data such as location, population size and symptoms can be entered quickly using the specimen report. Uploading a photo is mandatory, otherwise a reported specimen cannot be verified by the experts of the Ragweed Finder team. Users can decide whether to report by name or anonymously (only via email address).

Ragweed distribution map

Already verified specimen reports of ragweed are listed herein within the current season. The number of symbols amounts to the number of reports displayed on the map. The colouring around the specimen sites indicate the symptom intensity.

About Ragweed

What is ragweed? Where does it grow? What is known about ragweed pollen allergy? What can be done? These and other questions are answered in this compilation of the most important information about ragweed.

Recognize Ragweed

Some ragweed pollen allergy sufferers do not know their allergy trigger and may walk along an infested field without recognizing the plant. However, in order to report ragweed, a reliable identification of the plant is required. Many photos as well as a short instruction on how to take convincing pictures turns the interested citizen into a ragweed expert.

What happens with the specimen reports?

First of all, the specimen reports have to be evaluated. Each verified report is then transferred to the distribution map. Users will be informed about the evaluation of their specimen report via e-mail. The verified specimen reports are forwarded once a week to the responsible institutions/federal state governments. This enables the authorities to set appropriate corrective actions (e.g. mowing) and locate ragweed hotspots.

So far, there is no comprehensive legal obligation to report or remove ragweed in Austria. Only in Burgenland a law to control and prevent the spread of ragweed was passed in 2021.

Highlights:

For the first time, a tool for recording ragweed plants is available free of charge for all of Austria.
The ragweed distribution map is available for the public.
Thanks to a guideline and a checklist for reporting ragweed specimen, anyone can identify and report ragweed.

Ragweed pollen allergy sufferers can be an active support to contain the uncontrolled spread of ragweed!

20230509 Polleninformation Logo Web 01

This project fulfils version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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Wednesday, 03 June 2020 19:00

Monitoring greylag geese in the Almtal

Interested groups (mainly school classes) can participate in this scientific project about the whereabouts of the greylag geese in the Cumberland game park in Grünau im Almtal (Upper Austria).

The social behaviour of the flock of greylag geese of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center (a core facility of the University of Vienna) has been monitored for more than 40 years. The birds are individually marked by coloured leg-rings and can move completely free.

What is it all about?

During the breeding season (March to June) the greylag geese generally spend part of the day in the game park. Aim of this project is to monitor the spatio-temporal patterns of the goose-families during the rearing period. The collected data provide information about the behavioural ecology of the greylag goose.

Who can participate in the research?

School classes and other groups who are interested in participating as Citizen Scientists in the research of the Konrad Lorenz Research Center.

How can one participate in the research?

In order to participate, school classes/groups are asked to register for a workshop with subsequent data collection on the website Naturschauspiel.

Equipped with a protocol sheet, goose list and a site plan and accompanied by a biologist of the Research Center, the pupils record sightings of greylag geese on their way through the game park.

Results

Puehringer-Sturmayr, Gegendorfer, Rittenschober, Szipl, & Frigerio (2018): Involving pupils/citizens in long-term behavioural biology research. Lessons learnt and future perspectives. In: Heigl et al. (2018): Austrian Citizen Science Conference 2018, Abstract Book, p. 34-38.

Links

Project website (in English)

https://www.sparklingscience.at/de/projects/show.html?--typo3_neos_nodetypes-page[id]=1247

http://citizenscience.univie.ac.at/projekte-an-der-universitaet-wien/grass-graugaense-als-tiermodell-fuer-soziale-systeme/

http://www.wildparkgruenau.at

http://www.naturschauspiel.at/

The Konrad Lorenz Research Centre on Social Media

Twitter
Instagram
Facebook

This project fulfils version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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animals

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 18:41

Virus monitoring

Which are the most common bee viruses in Austria and are these viruses related to winter losses of local bee colonies? To answer these questions, 200 beekeepers from all over Austria are working as Citizen Scientists in the "virus monitoring" for three years (2018-2020). Each year in September they collect bees from five of their colonies and send them to AGES, Department of Apiculture and Bee Protection. In addition, they report the winter losses of their colonies. The samples are analysed for eight important bee viruses and checked whether the occurrence and severity of the virus infections are related to winter losses. The beekeepers are provided with the virus analyses of their colonies and thus learn more about the health status of their bee colonies.

According to current scientific knowledge, bee viruses, such as the deformed wing virus and the acute bee paralysis virus, are partly responsible for high winter losses. However, other viruses, such as the sacbrood virus or the chronic bee paralysis virus, also cause problems for bee colonies. Unfortunately, we currently only have selective knowledge about the occurrence and frequency of these bee viruses in Austria. Up to now, viruses have usually only been tested, when damage to bee colonies has already occurred. Research results from the USA and neighbouring European countries have shown, that many viruses occur just as frequently in inconspicuously appearing colonies as in clearly damaged ones. In order to make a statement about the frequency of bee viruses, both conspicuous and inconspicuous colonies must therefore be examined (= a representative selection).

"Virus monitoring" is a module of the project "Zukunft Biene 2", which is investigating Austria's bee health from 2017-2021 under the lead of Dr. Robert Brodschneider of the Karl-Franzens-University Graz. Research partners in the project are the University of Graz, AGES and University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna. The project is financed by the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT), the Austrian Federal Provinces, the beekeepers' umbrella organisation "Biene Österreich" as well as in kind contributions of the Karl-Franzens-University Graz, Vetmeduni Vienna and AGES.

Citizen Science Seminar

In 2020, poject coordinator Linde Morawetz held a lecture about "Virus Monitoring" as part of the lecture series "Citizen Science Seminar" at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU): "Beekeepers as Citizen Scientists: on the trail of bee viruses" (in German).

Project team

Citizen Scientists (sample and data collection): 200 beekeepers from all over Austria
Project management (communication, reporting): Linde Morawetz
Project implementation (elaboration and preparation of materials): Katharina Etter, Irmgard Derakhshifar, Hemma Köglberger, Rudolf Moosbeckhofer
Analytics laboratory (method development, analysis): Adi Steinrigl, Sigrid Träger
Statistician (statistical analysis): Antonia Griesbacher
Project management overall project "Zukunft Biene 2" (project management): Robert Brodschneider
Cooperation partners "Zukunft Biene 2" (consulting): Karl Crailsheim, Benjamin Lamp

This project fulfilled version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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food
animals

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 12:38

Tea Bag Index

Can tea help us understand climate change? Yes, but we need your help! We would like you to become our research partner and take part in one of the largest experiments on soil decomposition processes at the moment!

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land use

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 12:20

Herpetofauna

Amphibians and reptiles under observation in Austria

Importance and evaluability of databases increase with the extent, the precision and the currency of the data stored.

The Natural History Museum Vienna, one of the largest non-university research institutions in Austria, houses more than 30 million objects from the fields of biology, earth sciences and human sciences. Since 1982, the Amphibian and Reptile Collection has also been collecting data on the historical and recent distribution of amphibian and reptile species in Austria. All distribution data are documented in the Austrian Herpetofaunistic Database (current data status: about 200,000 records).

When collecting data, the Herpetological Collection also relies on the help of numerous volunteers who make their observations and reports available for inclusion in the database.

Report observations online

Currently Citizen Scientists can use the following platforms to report observations of amphibians and reptiles in Austria:

Please always report your amphibian or reptile observations with a photo (or sound recording in the case of amphibian calls), location and date and please use only one of the websites mentioned.

Report sightings by mail

Herpetological reports of sightings can also be sent by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If you have large amounts of data on amphibians and reptiles in Austria or would like to ask a question about the project, please contact this address too.

Every reported observation counts! We look forward to your sightings, thank you very much for your support!

Austrian HERPETORACE

Similar to BirdLife Austria’s BirdRace, Citizen Scientists are called once a year in spring to collect as many observations of native amphibians and reptiles as possible within a defined “race time” and, of course, to report them! The event also serves to fill existing mapping gaps, which is why findings are evaluated differently depending on the area. Great prizes are awarded to the winners every year.

The Austrian HERPETORACE 2025 takes place from 31.05. to 01.06.2025 and lasts exactly 48 hours!

Biodiversity Fund project Amphibians and Reptiles of Austria

In 2024 and 2025, the Citizen Science Initiative of the Herpetological Collection will also be supported by the Austrian Biodiversity Fund as part of the “Amphibians and Reptiles of Austria” project.

The Biodiversity Fund project aims to create a broad database on amphibians and reptiles in Austria by compiling, completing and analysing existing data. Habitat loss, diseases, the introduction of alien species and progressive global warming are just some of the factors threatening amphibians and reptiles. A good data basis is crucial and a prerequisite for assessing the conservation status and population trends.

The resulting data pool will form the basis for the compilation of the new Red List, the starting point for a new distribution atlas of Austria's amphibians and reptiles and the basis for the preparation of the report in accordance with Article 17 of the Habitats Directive. And most importantly, all data will be made freely available to everyone via the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and subsequently the Austrian Distribution Atlas.

Roles in the project

Project management: Coordination of reporters, project coordination and development, public relations, publication activities, database administration, answering enquiries.
Database administrator: processing and checking the data. Answering enquiries. Public relations, publication activities
www.herpetofauna.at: Citizen Scientists who provide us with data via their reporting platform, quality control. Publication activities.
Citizen Scientists: collecting observation data, sometimes publication activities.

Podcast episode

If you would like to learn more, you can listen to the Wissen macht Leute podcast episode about the project (in German). More information can be found here.

Citizen Science Seminar

As part of the ‘Citizen Science Seminar’ lecture series at BOKU University, project manager Silke Schweiger gave a lecture on herpetofauna in 2025 entitled ‘Amphibians and Reptiles of Austria Under Observation: Thirty-five Years of Long-Term Monitoring with the Support of Citizen Scientists'.

This project fulfils version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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animals

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 10:58

German in Austria (IamDiÖ)

Project description

When it comes to language, everyone can have a say!

"IamDiÖ – German in Austria" invites you to explore the diversity, change and use of all possible forms of German in Austria, from dialect and standard language to youth language and jargon.

By including the knowledge, opinions, experiences and concerns of the citizens in the research process, socially relevant topics are addressed and discussed publicly.

The aim of the Citizen Science project "IamDiÖ – German in Austria" is to encourage everyone to engage with their (own) use and perception of the German language in Austria and to conduct research in this field. In this way, exchange between the interested public and academia is facilitated and academia becomes tangible through citizen science. Academia, in turn, can gain new insights and approaches through public participation.

There are many ways to contribute to the projekct, addressing different aspects of the German language in Austria.

The questions in the project are:

Which words are used in Austria?
Which topics are of interest to the Austrian population when it comes to German in Austria?
How can citizens use their knowledge, concerns and experience to contribute to research into the German language in Austria?

How can one participate?

There are various ways to take part in "IamDiÖ – German in Austria".

1. Collecting words

Speakers of the German language in Austria collaboratively create a digital dictionary by entering words they use or hear on the “Wortgut” website. This allows to collect a large number of words used in Austria – some of which may have never been written down before. All forms (varieties) of the German language in Austria can be entered in the dictionary, ranging from standard language and dialect to youth language and jargon. If you use this word in Austria, it is a perfect contribution to our collection.

2. Question of the month

You can submit questions about the topic of "German in Austria" (Question of the month). The question of the month provides an insight into socially relevant topics on the German language in Austria. If there is already an academically sound answer to this question, scholars from "German in Austria" will provide an answer. If there is not an answer yet, you can search for an answer yourselfand start your own research project. In this way, citizens themselves become researchers in the field of linguistics. The website of the project provides information, instructions, methods and tips on the research process so that participants can find an answer to their questions.

Once a month, two of the questions submitted or researched are selected and participants can vote on the Facebook project page to decide which of the two questions should be answered this month. The question with the most votes will be answered either by you or our scholars on the project website.

3. Search for written text in the public space

Everyone can search for writing in public space. Among the research objects are posters, signs, stickers on the street, in the park or in public buildings, which contain written text in a language or in a language variety (e. g. dialect). Participants can take photos of these posters or signs (with the Lingscape App) and provide additional information (e. g. geoinformation or which languages can be seen). These photos are used, among others, to analyse the variety and dynamics of written text in the public sphere. They can be viewed and analysed by users on a map in the app or on the Lingscape website.

The photos of written text in public space can easily be taken on the way to work or school.

However, there are also organised scavenger hunts to collect and analyse images as a group (current scavenger hunt dates).

4. Meme Competition

In the meme competition, dialect memes can be created in a meme generator. The aim is to investigate the creation and distribution of memes in online media in connection with language use from a communication science perspective. Participants can add language, e. g. dialect, to pictures.

What happens to the contributions?

The words collected in the digital dictionary “Wortgut” can be accessed by the public. They are used as basis for answering research questions in different fields, such as: Which words are used in certain regions? How to write dialect? Which expressions are part of youth language or jargon?

The Questions of the Month and all results are presented on various channels such as the website and social media as well as on the research platform "German in Austria. Variation – Contact - Perception".

The pictures of the scavenger hunt for written text in public spaces will be stored and archived by the project partner Lingscape.

The memes are used for academic analyses in the field of communication.

What do I gain if I join in?

Participants gain an insight into linguistic research and can (ideally) carry out research themselves with the help of academics. They are encouraged to reflect on their use of language and their own perception of it. Awareness of language use and its perception is created.

Supported by:

Wissenschaftsfonds (Austrian Science Fund: FWF TCS 40 and FWF TCS 57-G)

This project fulfilled version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

Published in Project archive

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language

Wednesday, 03 June 2020 10:23

Citree

With the Citizen Science Project "CITREE" a crowdsourcing instrument for monitoring the growth of urban trees, will be developed and used. It builds on the "Sparkling Science" project "Woody Woodpecker", which deals with the growth, structure and function of wood.

Urban trees fulfill a variety of functions, such as improving the microclimate and air, noise protection or the design of public spaces. Monitoring of urban trees is important because climate change leads to an intensification of stress on the trees. In cities, trees are exposed to extreme heat and drought and are additionally affected by other stress factors such as pollutant emissions, limited root space, salt stress or pest infestation. Therefore, trees in cities are "living laboratories" that allow analyses of stress mechanisms and estimates of future developments. CITREE is intended to provide a tool for monitoring urban trees and thus create a bridge between citizens and their trees: On the one hand citizens can participate in the monitoring process, on the other hand they can see and learn how their trees grow. This feedback will also be used to present the work of public institutions (e.g. city nurseries) and will enable school projects on urban trees and urban ecology. Three schools in Vienna and Innsbruck are currently involved in researching as part of the Stadt-Baum-Boden project.

DSC 0176

CITREE is based on easy to install and cheap band-dendrometers, with which the trunk circumference and thus the growth can be measured. Dendrometers installed on urban trees are read by citizens who have access to the CITREE database via QR code and smartphone. The CITREE database collects the growth data of all trees and makes it available to involved citizens, the public, public institutions and researchers.

SKETCHendversion

The main work packages of the project are:

Selection/modification of suitable dendrometers
Development of an installation system
Development of the CITREE database
Test and optimization of the developed systems under urban conditions
Data analysis and
Installation of the systems in Austrian cities.

The project will be carried out at the Institute of Botany, University of Innsbruck and will benefit from the long experience in the field of science communication of the PI (Stefan Mayr) and his staff. The development of the CITREE database is carried out in cooperation with the University of Ghent and the company Phyto-IT, Belgium. A cooperation with the School of Education, University of Innsbruck serves the didactical optimization. For the installation in Austrian cities, city nurseries and researchers will be contacted to collect a first broader data set on the growth of urban trees. In the long term, CITREE is to be further developed into CITREE-EU, thus enabling a monitoring network in European cities.

Tasks and roles in the project:

Citizen Scientists:enter the numbers read from the dendrometer and receive a graphical display of the calculated tree diameter including the previous history.
Research assistants: handle special cases (resetting dendrometer, removing obvious mismeasurements...), tracking patterns of growth, vandalism, etc.
IT-assistant: Creating new trees in the database and on the homepage

If you have any questions about the project, or are interested in participating in the project, please write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

This project fulfils version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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Wednesday, 03 June 2020 10:07

Categories to come

What is the project specifically about?

So much hangs on just one thing - and yet words sometimes fail us. How do we talk about our bodies and the things that we need, want, and do when it comes to sex and sexual pleasure? And who do we talk to about these things? Categories to Come invites everybody to put their sexuality into words, and to discuss new words or new uses of words with other people. Goal of the project is to create a platform and gather resources, that open up so far unnamed subject areas of sexuality. They will be accessible both for personal gain and interdisciplinary research.

How can citizens participate in research?

Citizens are actively involved in shaping the future vocabulary of sexual language and provide important impulses for research. Citizens can write down their own terms and descriptions for intimate activities and their own sexual desire. They can also collect and name passages from songs, books or films that are sexually interesting to them. They can look at films and photos and other cultural works and describe what can be seen there and index them. They can read books and texts and filter out places with sexual acts and tag them.

What happens to the results?

The results form a resource to illustrate previously unnamed areas of sexuality. This data collection will be organized and made available as a database and can be used to enhance studies by researchers working in linguistics, social sciences, sexology, gender studies and literature as well as for art production.

What does the research contribute to?

Categories to come helps to build a new resource for research on sexuality in different disciplines. The project is based on two assumptions, namely, 1) the existing sexual vocabulary has only been partly described, and 2) because of sexuality’s visual nature, lack of language, and location within the realm of experience, there are many fantasies and sex acts that nobody has yet attempted to put into words. The project Categories to Come combines artistic and academic research interests. In contrast to purely scientific research, the artistic element also allows one to become creative and to create new words. Categories to come thus contributes to making research into sexual language and sexual desire more diverse.

This project shows what the artistic aspect can be in a research context, how it produces a different kind of knowledge than purely scientific research and how this can make a contribution in an interdisciplinary context. By making the results publicly accessible, citizens can use the database themselves and find new ways and terms to talk about sexuality. This counteracts tabooing and promotes a conscious discussion of one's own sexuality.

Image gallery

View the embedded image gallery online at:
https://www.citizen-science.at/en/about/about-oesterreich-forscht/author/934-florianheigl?start=140#sigProId8680991c3e

This project fulfilled version 1.1 of the quality criteria for citizen science projects on Österreich forscht.

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Wednesday, 03 June 2020 09:58

Nature conservation monitoring

We take care of our meadows and alpine pastures!

For more than a decade, hundreds of farmers have been saying "We look at our meadows and alpine pastures!".

The regular observations of the more than 700 participants impressively show that on more than 80 % of the monitoring plots in extensive grassland the number of individuals of the species observed has remained the same or even increased.

By observing the animals and plants every year, the perspective with which the farmers perceive their meadow changes and a process of more conscious action is set in motion.

Background

In monitoring extensive grassland, participants look at which management practices promote or inhibit the occurrence of individual plant and animal species.

The Austria-wide observations of plant and animal diversity provide new insights into the benefits of management in extensive grassland. (By extensive grassland we mean species-rich meadows that are mowed a maximum of two to three times a year or not at all or only slightly fertilized and gentle grazing.)

The species-rich grassland has been displaced by a frightening 90% since the 1960s due to structural changes in agriculture and land use change! The last occurrences of colorful flower meadows are therefore landscapes with a high number of species and important retreat areas for plant and animal diversity in Austria!

By regularly observing the development of indicator species, the meaning of different agri-environmental measures (ÖPUL) such as contractual nature conservation, organic farming (BIO) and environmentally friendly and biodiversity-promoting management (UBB) is made understandable and it is observed at farm level whether agricultural subsidies also have an effect on the area.

The nature conservation monitoring will show which type of management is well suited for the type of meadow under consideration and therefore leads to safe stocks of the observed indicator species. As a result, management requirements can be better evaluated on the basis of feedback from farmers and funding can be awarded in a targeted manner.

Participate

All farmers with (potentially) extensive meadows and pastures who take part in the agri-environmental measure ÖPUL “Organic farming (BIO)” or “Environmentally friendly and biodiversity-promoting management (UBB)” can take part. At the beginning there is an enrollment by an ecologist. It is agreed which indicator species are to be observed and counted annually. The participants then document the indicator species and the management of the meadow every year and enter the data on the online platform www.naturschutzmonitoring.at.

Project duration: until 2029

Information on participation:

Hotline: +43 677 643 130 71
Mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Quotations of participants

„This year I deliberately left a patch of rambling bellflowers so that they could sow seeds. Now I am already curious whether they will be more next year!“

„This project is going places. My son wanted to reforest our rough pasture some time ago, because the fodder is worth nothing and mowing takes a lot of time. Since your expert showed him that there are a lot of rare animals and plants living in it, he hasn't said anything about it. He even helps me counting now.“

„What makes me particularly happy is that for once it is not about control or money, but about seeing and appreciating the beautiful aspects of our work.“

You can also follow the ÖKL on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for further information.