Marine ecosystems face unprecedented pressures from climate change, biodiversity loss, species invasions and human exploitation. Yet comprehensive and timely biodiversity data remain a bottleneck in ecosystem-based management and science-policy interfaces. Citizen science (CS) offers a powerful tool - mobilizing public participation to generate biodiversity observations at spatial and temporal scales beyond traditional research capacity.
This session explores novel approaches to collecting, validating and integrating citizen-generated marine biodiversity data into decision-making frameworks, with a particular interest in contexts where human activities and ecological change intersect - such as fisheries, coastal resource use, and invasive species management. We invite contributions on:
- Design and implementation of marine citizen science programs (e.g. coastal species monitoring, beach surveys, plankton workshops, invasive species reporting or recreational harvesting initiatives), focusing on participant engagement, spatial-temporal coverage, and alignment with policy-relevant metrics.
- Quality assurance methodologies (e.g. consensus-based classification, Bayesian item-response modelling, and error correction) to enhance data credibility and compatibility with professional datasets.
- Mechanisms for data flow from CS to decision-makers, such as integration with ICES Data Centre, OSPAR/HELCOM, marine spatial planning, or national policy frameworks.
- Case studies where citizen science data inform policy, advice or management, including examples of citizen contributions to invasive species monitoring, valuation of socioecological trade-offs or recreational harvesting as a form of participatory practice.
- Challenges and solutions, ranging from data interoperability and standardization to volunteer training, sustained engagement and ethical considerations.
By bringing together marine scientists, CS practitioners, data managers and policy advisors, this session aims to:
- Highlight CS models that ensure data quality and relevance.
- Bridge grassroots biodiversity monitoring efforts and institutional advisory processes, including examples that address invasives, fisheries and other contested socio-ecological trade-offs.
- Co-create a roadmap for scalable integration of citizen observations into marine science and management.
