0202410220141
Moth Tracker Description: Moth Tracker is a citizen science initiative launched by Zoos Victoria aimed at monitoring the migration of Bogong Moths, which are a primary food source of the endangered Mountain Pygmy Possum. The Moth Tracker initiative allows members of the public to report sightings of Bogong Moths during their spring migration across Australia.
STARDIT ID:
Members of the public can take photos of Bogong Moths and upload them to the Moth Tracker website, providing details such as location, date, and time. Experts from Zoos Victoria then verify these sightings.
Bogong Moth populations are declining, so the data gathered through Moth Tracker can help inform conservation strategies to protect both species.
Moth Tracker also aims to raise public awareness about the ecological importance of Bogong Moths and the threats they face, including climate change, habitat loss, and light pollution.STARDIT ID:
0202410220141
Dates
State ongoing
Start 2019-09-03
Form updated 2024-10-22
Location
Eastern Australia
Aims
Gain important knowledge on the migration, annual trends and numbers of Bogong Moths
Investigate key threats to the moths and determine where they may be drawn away from their migration
provide early indications of moth numbers to aid planning to assist support of Mountain Pygmy-possums in times of food shortage
raise awareness of the plight of the Bogong Moth and Mountain Pygmy-possum and empower the community to help
Keywords
Bogong Moth
Mountain Pygmy Possum
Zoos Victoria
Citizen Science
Category
management/monitoring
Inputs
organisation
State Wide Integrated Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) (link)
Task: Host the Moth Tracker website
organisation
Centre for eResearch and Digital Innovation (CeRDI)
Task: Collaborated with Zoos Victoria to develop the Moth Tracker web application
organisation
University of Western Sydney (link)
Task: Involved in a research program using Moth Tracker data
group of individuals
Citizen scientifists
Task: Downloading app, taking photos of Bogong Moths and submitting them via the app
Compensation: volunteer
Outputs and impacts
dataset (open)
Stage: Ongoing
Dataset for monitoring populations and migration patterns of Bogong Moths
Impact: Dataset being collected. Impact unknown.