Data for: The role of citizen science in management of invasive avian species: What people think, know, and do

Abstract: Invasive species pose a significant threat to native flora and fauna. In North America, nest site competition from invasive cavity-nesting birds can limit the opportunities for successful nesting by native birds. Managing invasive species is costly and complex, requiring input from biologists, decision makers, and the public. An informed and engaged public can play an important role in mitigating the negative effects of invasive avian species. However, little is known regarding the publics’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward non-native bird species. We examined the association between participating in a citizen science project and enjoyment, knowledge, and management of two non-native avian species in North America: European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) and house sparrows (Passer domesticus). We administered a pre and post survey to 947 people who monitor nest boxes in the United States and Canada, 30% of whom were also reporting their observations to NestWatch, a citizen science project focused on nesting birds. We found that NestWatch participants were more likely to have negative views of non-native species, score higher on bird identification tasks, and manage for invasive species than non-participants. The most important predictor for undertaking management activities was respondents' perceptions of whether they believed non-native birds to be a problem at the continental scale. Our study highlights the important role citizen science may play in shaping attitudes and behaviors and increasing knowledge, as well as the importance of people’s observations and perceptions of threats to engage in actions that can potentially support native bird populations. In order to interpret and use the data, you will need to download the manuscript of the same name from the Journal of Environmental Management, along with the supporting information. We include SAS code and one data files referenced in the manuscript.摘要：外来入侵物种对本土动植物构成严重威胁。在北美，入侵性洞巢鸟类的巢址竞争会限制本土鸟类成功筑巢的机会。外来物种治理成本高昂且流程复杂，需要生物学家、决策者与公众的共同参与。具备信息素养且积极参与的公众，在缓解入侵鸟类物种的负面影响方面可发挥重要作用。然而，目前学界对公众关于非本土鸟类物种的认知、态度与行为尚缺乏足够了解。本研究探究了参与公民科学（citizen science）项目与北美两种非本土鸟类——欧洲椋鸟（Sturnus vulgaris）和家麻雀（Passer domesticus）的公众喜爱程度、认知水平及治理行为之间的关联。我们向美国和加拿大境内的947名巢箱监测者开展了前后两次问卷调查，其中30%的受访者同时向专注于筑巢鸟类的公民科学项目NestWatch上报其观测数据。研究发现，相较于未参与该项目的人群，NestWatch参与者更倾向于对非本土物种持有负面看法，在鸟类识别任务中得分更高，且更积极开展入侵物种治理工作。影响受访者开展治理活动的最重要预测因素，是其是否认为非本土鸟类在大陆尺度上构成威胁。本研究凸显了公民科学在塑造公众态度与行为、提升认知水平方面的重要作用，同时也证实了公众对物种威胁的观测与认知，可推动人们采取行动以助力本土鸟类种群保护。 为解读并使用本数据集，您需从《环境管理杂志》（Journal of Environmental Management）下载同名论文及其配套补充材料。本数据集包含论文中提及的SAS代码与一份数据文件。