NEWS & EVENTS
Spanish Case Study: Citizen Collaboration Requested to Monitor the Biodiversity of Metropolitan Beaches This Summer
The BioPlatgesMet project calls for public participation to inventory coastal nature through the MINKA citizen science platform.
The Kentish Plover, the East Iberian Sand Racer, the Common Blue Butterfly, and the European Rabbit are some of the species of fauna that can be found during the summer on the beaches of the eight metropolitan municipalities: Castelldefels, Gavà, Viladecans, El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona, Sant Adrià de Besòs, Badalona, and Montgat. With the arrival of summer, the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona (AMB), the Metròpoli Institute, and the Institute of Marine Sciences (ICM-CSIC) make a call for public collaboration to monitor the biodiversity of these beaches through the citizen science project BioPlatgesMet. The action requested from the public is to photograph the flora and fauna of the beaches and dunes using the MINKA citizen science platform, available on web and app.
Every summer, metropolitan beaches receive around 11 million visitors. The Guarden partner David Piquer, AMB beach technician, remarks, “In this era of greater affluence, we have a double objective: to raise awareness of the fact that beaches are ecosystems very rich in biodiversity and to ask for citizen collaboration to build a collaborative inventory of local flora and fauna species.” For this reason, one of the objectives of BioPlatgesMet is to bring the local nature of each municipality closer to the population. Elena Domene, Head of Sustainability at the Metròpoli Institute, emphasizes, “It is essential that everyone understands the importance of preserving these natural spaces, as they are crucial habitats for many species. An example is the dunes, which are preserved with ropes on most metropolitan beaches.”
Since the BioPlatgesMet project began, more than 5,200 observations of 599 different species have been collected on MINKA, with the participation of 137 people. Jaume Piera, a researcher at ICM-CSIC, explains, “From the ICM-CSIC, we validate all this data that people provide so that it has scientific value and can be used for research projects and the management of the beaches.” In fact, last May, BioPlatgesMet data was incorporated into the global data repository GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information System), contributing to international scientific knowledge. In parallel, the observations of marine flora and fauna collected on MINKA throughout the summer also form part of the BioMARató, another citizen science initiative that seeks to report the biodiversity of the entire Catalan coast.
Wildlife Refuges to Endure the Summer
Having an inventory of the biodiversity of metropolitan beaches and dunes is crucial to guide the management and protection actions of these ecosystems. A prominent example is the installation of a wildlife refuge at Platja de la Pineda in Castelldefels, built with organic materials such as driftwood logs to keep humidity and temperature low. “This refuge provides a safe habitat for many animals, for example reptiles, such as the Catalana wall lizard, and micromammals, such as the western Mediterranean mouse. In addition, it has specific holes for bees and solitary wasps, which are essential pollinators for the ecosystem and harmless to citizens,” explains David Piquer.