National Butterfly Monitoring Scheme in Israel (BMS-IL) |
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The Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS-IL) was launched in 2009 at the initiative of the ''Israel Lepidopterists’ Society (ILS)'' with the aim of building a scientific database that will collect and record data and information about the state of butterflies in Israel. The database & portal established, managed and finance by Israel Pe'er (scientific guidance Dr. Guy Pe'er). This is a national citizen-science project based on an array of volunteers from all over the country. Years of extensive activity have yielded partnerships, support, recognition and active communities that enthusiastically engage in the systematic monitoring and counting of our country's butterflies. The observation reports enrich our scientific information and strengthen citizens' power to influence their protection. Why monitor and why butterflies ? Butterflies are nature's thermometer and considered an ideal ecological indicator because of their absolute dependence on the world of plants and insects, which make them sensitivity and highly responsive to changes in the environment. Repeated and systematic monitoring of butterflies (=counting) is a highly effective scientific diagnostic tool for studying, analyzing and understanding the state of the environment, for ecological analysis of the state of nature and for drawing conclusions and recommendations for action and prevention of human-caused damage, damage that causes the extinction of the animals and plants important to our livelihood. The BMS butterfly-monitoring project includes several sampling protocols, each uses its dedicated mobile apps (developed by I.Pe'er) : Systematic monitoring of a trail or garden: : over 200 transects nationwide monitored twice a month by volunteers from about 15 monitoring communities and dozens of independent volunteers. Mostely all BMS data is collected using the BMSapp application. This is a dynamic : Map of the systematic monitoring routes in Israel Sporadic Monitoring: Nature and butterfly enthusiasts from all over the country send daily observation reports, using the "I Saw a Butterfly" app on Google play. and enrich the observation database with valuable information . Rare species surveys: In 2009, 14 butterfly species declared "protected natural values" in Israel. Our BMS-IL works to promote annual surveys while emphasizing on species in danger of extinction and hundreds of volunteers participate in them, using "Butterfly Survey Israel" applicatiion. The three main components of our citizen science project are: > Volunteers and butterfly-mongering communities > Information technologies , systems, software platform, apps., database of observations > The scientific team , researchers and butterfly experts |