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New Tool Monitors Wikipedia Page Views to Aid Wildlife Conservation Efforts
A new tool known as the Species Awareness Index (SAI) has been developed by scientists to track the changes in Wikipedia views in real-time for thousands of species and monitor change in online biodiversity awareness.
Researchers have developed a new tool that tracks the monthly changes in Wikipedia page views for thousands of species. The Species Awareness Index (SAI) is designed to provide a real-time measure of changing interest in biodiversity that can help conservation organisations and science communicators develop effective strategies for protecting wildlife.
The SAI looks at the monthly change in average daily page views for around 40,000 species across 10 of the most popular Wikipedia languages, including reptiles, ray-finned fishes, mammals, birds, insects, and amphibians. It measures the rate of change in page views for a species rather than overall page views, so that highly viewed species do not skew the results.
The SAI was heavily inspired by the Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks changes in vertebrate population size over time. Like the LPI, the SAI collects data from a range of sources to identifies trends. Researchers hope to develop the index further with more funding to apply the tool to more species worldwide and to incorporate data from multiple online sources such as social media platforms.
Dr Joseph Millard, data scientist and computational ecologist at the Museum and co-author of the study, said that real-time tracking of online interest in biodiversity could help organisations and various other environmental stakeholders make quick and informed decisions.
‘You can't do this if the data is static. If the data only goes up to 2020, conservation organizations can't really do anything with that because it's already out of date’.
Dr Robin Freeman, co-author and head of the Indicators and Assessment Unit at ZSL said; ‘We’re excited to present this much-needed tool to understand which species we’re paying attention to and which we aren’t, in real-time. It’s critical that we better understanding our relationship with nature and work to increase awareness of nature, species and the biodiversity crisis we’re facing.’
The SAI can also help scientists better understand how interest in nature may changes over time, how viral videos on wildlife and animals influence public perception, or how significant world events such as the COVID-19 pandemic may affect biodiversity interest. This type of monitoring has also helped to gather information on wildlife-associated recreational activities, such as ecotourism, and has revealed online patterns of the wildlife trade that can help develop targeted strategies for conservation.
The SAI is an important tool for monitoring changes in how people view the natural world and could prove invaluable in gaining support for tackling the biodiversity crisis.
The study ‘Achieving a real-time online monitoring system for conservation culturomics’ was published in the journal Conservation Biology. A link to the platform is available here.
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The Natural History Museum is both a world-leading science research centre and the most-visited indoor attraction in the UK. With a vision of a future in which both people and the planet thrive, it is uniquely positioned to be a powerful champion for balancing humanity’s needs with those of the natural world.
It is custodian of one of the world’s most important scientific collections comprising over 80 million specimens accessed by researchers from all over the world both in person and via over 50 billion digital data downloads to date. The Museum’s 350 scientists are finding solutions to the planetary emergency from biodiversity loss through to the sustainable extraction of natural resources.
The Museum uses its global reach and influence to meet its mission to create advocates for the planet - to inform, inspire and empower everyone to make a difference for nature. We welcome millions of visitors through our doors each year, our website has had 17 million visits in the last year and our touring exhibitions have been seen by around 20 million people in the last 10 years.
ZSL
Founded in 1826, ZSL is an international conservation charity, driven by science, working to restore wildlife in the UK and around the world; by protecting critical species, restoring ecosystems, helping people and wildlife live together and inspiring support for nature. Through our leading conservation zoos, London and Whipsnade, we bring people closer to nature and use our expertise to protect wildlife today, while inspiring a lifelong love of animals in the conservationists of tomorrow. Visit www.zsl.org for more information.