Citizen science is a powerful tool to combat the challenges created by invasive species. Our study emphasizes the importance of collaborations between researchers, government administration, and citizen volunteers.
The giant slug Limax maximus is an invasive species which made its way from northern Europe all the way to Japan and other regions of the world. It is a notorious pest of horticultural and agricultural crops.
Recently a Japanese research team found that a certain set of weather conditions could be a reliable short-term indicator of how often giant slugs would appear on a set mountain path. The findings showed that the slugs were more likely to appear on days with higher humidity, lower windspeed and lower precipitation than the 20-year average. These observations can be used to predict future outbreaks of the pest.
This study was actually made possible by citizen science. In order to survey the number of slugs present on the mountain path chosen for the study (Mt. Maruyama route, in Sapporo, Japan), a volunteer naturalist hiked the path at 5:00 AM nearly every day for two years. The colleagues collected weather data obtained from a nearby meteorological station and combined them with observational data to calculate correlations between slug appearances and complex weather conditions.
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