Co-design of a citizen science study: Unlocking the potential of eDNA for volunteer freshwater monitoring

Citizen science is increasingly being promoted as a means of gathering more data to help inform the management of ecosystems. Involving the participants in the design of data collection activities is a form of co-design often proposed by those calling for a translational ecology. In addition, novel monitoring approaches have the potential to improve the quality of data collected by citizen scientists. We explored the potential of environmental DNA (eDNA) for vertebrate (mainly fish) species monitoring through a co-designed catchment monitoring strategy. Having been introduced to the potential of eDNA, citizen scientists designed and executed an eDNA-based survey of a small chalk stream catchment to explore questions of concern. The eDNA monitoring approach provided data about fish and other vertebrate diversity in the catchment which would have otherwise required sampling approaches difficult for citizen scientists. These data give a preliminary answer to some of the citizen scientists’..., Codesigned sampling programme with citizen scientists. Citizen scientists collected and prepared water samples for subsequent metabarcoding., Text is .xml, tabular data is .csv., # Data from: Co-design of a citizen science study: Unlocking the potential of eDNA for volunteer freshwater monitoring

## Sample locations and species detected at each location using environmental DNA metabarcoding. Water samples for analysis collected from the River Bure catchment (Norfolk) by citizen scientists who co-designed the study. Methods for sample collection, treatment and analysis.

# Data from: Co-design of a citizen science study: Unlocking the potential of eDNA for volunteer freshwater monitoring

1. ClarkeCodesignCitizenScienceSampleLocations2023
Sample locations for water sample collection, one sample for eDNA extraction and analysis collected from each location. Location is given as GB Ordnance Survey National Grid Reference, X and Y coordinates and what3words /// The simplest way to talk about location
Note sample number 35 was contaminated with human DNA and yielded no other DNA hence the results files only include data for samples 1-34.
2. ClarkeCodesignC...,