title: Democratizing evolutionary biology, lessons from insects.
abstract: The engagement of the public in the scientific process is an old practice. Yet with recent advances in technology, the role of the citizen scientist in studying evolutionary processes has increased. Insects provide ideal models for understanding these evolutionary processes at large scales. This review highlights how insect-based citizen science has led to the expansion of specimen collections and reframed research questions in light of new observations and unexpected discoveries. Given the rapid expansion of human-modified (and inhabited) environments, the degree to which the public can participate in insect-based citizen science will allow us to track and monitor evolutionary trends at a global scale.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7617, USA; Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, DK-2100 Copenhagen, Denmark. Electronic address: rrdunn@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Dunn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Geology and Environmental Science, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN, 37403, USA.
authors.forename: DeAnna E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Beasley
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001695:Biology / Q000639:trends*; D003256:Community Participation; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007313:Insecta; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends*