Digital Conservation Can Fill Data Gaps in Data-Poor Regions: Case of Elasmobranchs in India

Abstract

Internet and social media use have increased significantly over the past decade, resulting in huge volumes of biodiversity data that are potentially cost-effective means to better inform biodiversity conservation and resource management. We examine the role of digital conservation in a data-poor context of the Global South, using sharks and rays in India as a case study. India is a top shark fishing nation characterised by few, disconnected species-specific research and conservation projects but lacks nation-scale conservation insights. We analysed 1293 elasmobranch-related posts and recorded 83 species from six social media and citizen science platforms. We identified two key dimensions of data—ecological and social (including politics and governance)—and tested the effectiveness of these data in mirroring or complementing scientific research. We found that digital platforms were (i) spatio-temporally better representative than scientific research, because they included 96 underrepresented regions and spanned 18 years, despite some biases; (ii) useful to detect the presence of data-poor and rare species; and (iii) effective to detect human–elasmobranch interactions and public perceptions towards sharks and rays, topics which are poorly represented in the scientific literature. We find that digital conservation can therefore be utilised to generate national-scale insights in regions with limited resources and site-specific data. It is also useful to fill socioecological data gaps to drive better management and increased public participation/awareness for conservation. The multidisciplinary nature of data emerging from digital conservation has high relevance for current and future conservation of species.