Web search volume as a surrogate of public interest in biodiversity: a case study of Japanese red list species

Abstract

Introduction: Citizen science has contributed substantially to the quantity of biodiversity data collections and is used as an essential monitoring scheme for global conservation studies. However, there remain large gaps in the geographic and taxonomic coverage of data collections, and different levels of interest in participation and uneven distribution of participants can result in biased data collection in citizen science programs. These issues must be addressed for more efficient use of citizen science-based biodiversity data. We compared web search volumes with citizen-collected occurrence data of Japanese Red List species. Outcomes: Uneven distribution of web search volumes with different taxa was correlated with the amount of data collected by citizen-volunteered programs. Moreover, the relative web search volumes and amounts of citizen-collected data showed similar spatial patterns at the province level. Conclusion: Overall, our results indicate that web search volume can indirectly reflect potential citizen participation or interest in particular species. Web search behavior can help project coordinators estimate potential citizen engagement and refine efficient citizen participation programs for biodiversity conservation.