DOI: 10.5068/d1769q
title: Data from: Citizen science can complement professional invasive plant surveys and improve estimates of suitable habitat

description: Aim: Citizen science is a cost-effective potential source of invasive
 species occurrence data. However, data quality issues due to unstructured
 sampling approaches may discourage the use of these observations by
 science and conservation professionals. This study explored the utility of
 low-structure iNaturalist citizen science data in invasive plant
 monitoring. We first examined the prevalence of invasive taxa in
 iNaturalist plant observations and sampling biases associated with those
 data. Using four invasive species as examples, we then compared
 iNaturalist and professional agency observations and used the two datasets
 to model suitable habitat for each species. Location: Hawaiʻi, USA
 Methods: To estimate the prevalence of invasive plant data, we compared
 the number of species and observations recorded in iNaturalist to
 botanical checklists for Hawaiʻi. Sampling bias was quantified along
 gradients of site accessibility, protective status, and vegetation
 disturbance using a bias index. Habitat suitability for four invasive
 species was modeled in Maxent, using observations from iNaturalist,
 professional agencies, and stratified subsets of iNaturalist data.
 Results: iNaturalist plant observations were biased toward invasive
 species, which were frequently recorded in areas with higher road/trail
 density and vegetation disturbance. Professional observations of four
 example invasive species tended to occur in less accessible,
 native-dominated sites. Habitat suitability models based on iNaturalist
 versus professional data showed moderate overlap and different
 distributions of suitable habitat across vegetation disturbance classes.
 Stratifying iNaturalist observations had little effect on how suitable
 habitat was distributed for the species modeled in this study. Main
 conclusions: Opportunistic iNaturalist observations have the potential to
 complement and expand professional invasive plant monitoring, which we
 found was often affected by inverse sampling biases. Invasive species
 represented a high proportion of iNaturalist plant observations, and were
 recorded in environments that were not captured by professional surveys.
 Combining the datasets thus led to more comprehensive estimates of
 suitable habitat.
description: # Data from: Citizen science can complement professional invasive plant
 surveys and improve estimates of suitable habitat Diversity and
 Distributions, 00, 1–16.
 [https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13749](https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13749)
 Access this dataset on Dryad:
 [https://doi.org/10.5068/D1769Q](https://doi.org/10.5068/D1769Q) ## R
 Scripts and Data Tables ### Scripts #### File: bias\_index.R Description:
 R script for calculating bias in: 1) all iNaturalist plant observations
 and 2) iNaturalist and professional observations of the 4 study species,
 Hedychium gardnerianum, Lantana camara, Leucaena leucocephala, and Psidium
 cattleianum. #### File: hsm.R Description: R script for: 1) producing
 Hedychium gardnerianum, Lantana camara, Leucaena leucocephala, and Psidium
 cattleianum habitat suitability models and 2) calculating overlap among
 model series with Schoener's D. ### Tables \[biasclasses folder] ####
 File: area\_disturb\_iv.txt Description: Comma-delimited file containing
 the percent area and number of cells in each site disturbance class. Used
 to calculate bias index. #### File: area\_padus\_iv.txt Description:
 Comma-delimited file containing the percent area and number of cells in
 each site status class. Used to calculate bias index. #### File:
 area\_rd\_iv.txt Description: Comma-delimited file containing the percent
 area and number of cells in each site accessibility class. Used to
 calculate bias index. ## Data Descriptions ### Bias class rasters
 \[biasclasses folder] #### File: biasclasses/access\_b4.tif Description:
 Raster describing site accessibility bias classes, which were based on
 road and trail density (kilometers/kilometers-squared) per 250-meter grid
 cell. Road data came from TIGER/Line® Shapefiles and trail data from Na
 Ala Hele Trails. Values include: 1 = 0 2 = &lt;=6.3 3 = &lt;=14.8 4 =
 &gt;14.8 Derived from: TIGER/Line® Shapefiles,
 [https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/index.php](https://www.census.gov/cgi-bin/geo/shapefiles/index.php). Registration is NOT a prerequisite to download the data. Na Ala Hele Trails, [https://geoportal.hawaii.gov/datasets/na-ala-hele-trails/](https://geoportal.hawaii.gov/datasets/na-ala-hele-trails/). Registration is NOT a prerequisite to download the data. #### File: biasclasses/status\_b4.tif Description: Raster describes site status bias classes, which were based on distance (in meters) to open and restricted access areas in the U.S. Geological Survey Protected Areas Database. Values include: 1 = 0 2 = &lt;=579.1 3 = &lt;=1729.5 4 = &gt;1729.5 Derived from: U.S. Geological Survey Protected Areas, [https://doi.org/10.5066/P955KPLE](https://doi.org/10.5066/P955KPLE). Registration is NOT a prerequisite to download the data. #### File: biasclasses/disturb\_b4.tif Description: Raster describing site disturbance bias classes, which were derived from the Carbon Assessment of Hawaii Habitat Status Map. Values include: 1 = Heavily disturbed vegetation 2 = Dominated by non-native vegetation 3 = Dominated by native vegetation 4 = Bare ground Derived from: Carbon Assessment of Hawaii Habitat Status Map, [https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DB80B9](https://doi.org/10.5066/F7DB80B9). Registration is NOT a prerequisite to download the data. ### Target-group backgrounds for modeling \[backgrounds folder] #### File: inat\_bg.asc Derived from: iNaturalist vascular plant observations. #### File: agency\_bg.asc Derived from: Professional invasive plant observations collected by Big Island Invasive Species Committee, Consortium of Pacific Herbarium, Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee, Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, Oʻahu Army Natural Resource Program, Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee, and Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center. #### File: all\_bg.asc Derived from: inat_bg.asc and agency_bg.asc rasters ## Supplemental Information: Species Observations These data and/or attributes have been compiled from multiple sources. They are available for use provided that attribution is appropriately given. Please see specific sources below. ### File: inat\_plantae.csv Description: iNaturalist plant species observations for the state of Hawaii from 2008-01-01 to 2020-11-16. Includes basic ID fields provided by iNaturalist, bias classifications, and species establishment classifications. Species establishment attributes (origin_L*) were compiled from Imada (2012), Imada (2019), Daehler et al. (2004), and Hawaii's Most Invasive Horticultural Plants list. Daehler, C. C., Denslow, J. S., Ansari, S., & Kuo, H.-C. (2004). A Risk-Assessment System for Screening Out Invasive Pest Plants from Hawaii and Other Pacific Islands. Conservation Biology, 18(2), 360–368. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00066.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2004.00066.x) Hawaii State Alien Species Coordinator. (2017, May 9). Hawaii’s Most Invasive Horticultural Plants. Retrieved from [http://www.hear.org/hortweeds/](http://www.hear.org/hortweeds/) Imada, C. (2012). Hawaiian Native and Naturalized Vascular Plants Checklist (No. Bishop Musem Technical Report 60). Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum. Imada, C. (2019). Hawaiian Naturalized Vascular Plants Checklist (No. Bishop Musem Technical Report 69). Honolulu, Hawaii: Bishop Museum. Derived from: iNaturalist observations downloaded via Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). #### Source: GBIF.org (16 November 2020) GBIF Occurrence Download [https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.243p7m](https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.243p7m) #### Attributes: gbifID = record identifier provided by GBIF species = taxonomic identification (provided by iNaturalist) scientific = species binomial name (provided by iNaturalist) decimalLat = latitudinal coordinate (WGS 1984, EPSG:4326) (provided by iNaturalist) decimalLon = longitudinal coordinate (WGS 1984, EPSG:4326) (provided by iNaturalist) eventDate = observation date (provided by iNaturalist) license = Creative Commons license code associated with each record (provided by iNaturalist) recordedBy = iNaturalist user who recorded the species (provided by iNaturalist) disturb_iv = disturbance bias class padus_iv = status bias class rddens_iv = accessibility bias class syn = synonym for scientific name, where applicable records = number of research-grade iNaturalist observations downloaded for Hawaii origin_L1 = species process of establishment in Hawaii; most general attribute Native Introduced origin_L2 = more specific than origin_L1 Endemic (native species endemic to Hawaii) Indigenous (non-endemic native species) Introduced Polynesian (originally introduced by Polynesians) origin_L3 = more specific than origin_L2 Endemic Indigenous Naturalized (introduced species that is not currently considered invasive) Potential Invasive (introduced species likely to become invasive) Invasive (Introduced and documented to cause significant ecological or economic harm) origin_L4 = most specific establishment attribute Endemic Indigenous SOC (native species of concern) Threatened (state or federally threatened native species) Endangered (state or federally endangered native species) Naturalized (introduced species that is not currently considered invasive, not including Polynesian introductions) Polynesian naturalized (originally a Polynesian introduction that is not currently considered invasive) Potential invasive (introduced species likely to become invasive, not including Polynesian introductions) Polynesian potential invasive (originally a Polynesian introduction that is likely to become invasive) Invasive ### File: agency\_data.csv Description: Point locations for Hedychium gardnerianum, Lantana camara, Leucaena leucocephala, and Psidium cattleianum, which were collected and generously provided by the Big Island Invasive Species Committee, Consortium of Pacific Herbarium, Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee, Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership, Oʻahu Army Natural Resource Program, and Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee. File includes species and coordinate attributes provided by these agencies as well as bias classifications. #### Sources: Big Island Invasive Species Committee Consortium of Pacific Herbarium Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership Oʻahu Army Natural Resource Program Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee #### Attributes: Species = species binomial name decimalLat = latitudinal coordinate (WGS 1984, EPSG:4326) decimalLon = longitudinal coordinate (WGS 1984, EPSG:4326) disturb_iv = disturbance bias class padus_iv = status bias class rddens_iv = accessibility bias class ### File: maxent.zip Description: ZIP folder containing subsets of the species observations datasets (agency_data and inat_plantae, described above) for Maxent modeling. There are 7 CSV files per species, one for each HSM. #### Sources: Big Island Invasive Species Committee Consortium of Pacific Herbarium GBIF.org (16 November 2020) GBIF Occurrence Download [https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.243p7m](https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.243p7m) Kauaʻi Invasive Species Committee Koʻolau Mountains Watershed Partnership Oʻahu Army Natural Resource Program Oʻahu Invasive Species Committee