Abstract Citizen science has proven to be a valuable tool for biodiversity conservation. However, to maximize the conservation benefits of citizen science programs, researchers and practitioners would gain from a better understanding of project volunteers and what drives them to participate. We examined the diverse motivations of volunteers (n = 3041) participating in Audubon's Christmas Bird Count, one of the world's oldest ecological monitoring citizen (or community) science projects. Principal axis factor analysis along a 16-item scale revealed six distinct intrinsic and extrinsic motivational constructs: science and conservation, outdoor recreation and discovery, commitment and tradition, social interaction, classic birding, and personal accomplishment. Most participants reported multiple motivations, but 40% indicated contribution to science and conservation was their primary reason for initially engaging with the project. As project participation continued, science and conservation-related motives became even more important (with 55% listing as primary continuing motivation). Regression analyses showed motivational orientations varied by socio-demographic attributes and levels/type of project participation. For example, social interaction and tradition were more important to aspiring project leaders than casual observers. Results highlight insights into deepening project engagement and recruiting and retaining citizen scientists. Adapted and applied across different contexts, our instrument and motivational constructs could help to facilitate volunteer management and enhance citizen science's capacity to advance biodiversity conservation goals.

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公民科学家的不同动机：随着志愿者参与的进展，保护重点是否会增加？

摘要 公民科学已被证明是保护生物多样性的宝贵工具。然而，为了最大限度地发挥公民科学计划的保护效益，研究人员和从业者将从更好地了解项目志愿者以及促使他们参与的因素中获益。我们研究了参与奥杜邦圣诞鸟类计数的志愿者 (n = 3041) 的不同动机，这是世界上最古老的生态监测公民（或社区）科学项目之一。主轴因子分析包含 16 个项目，揭示了六个不同的内在和外在动机结构：科学和保护、户外休闲和发现、承诺和传统、社会互动、经典观鸟和个人成就。大多数参与者报告了多种动机，但 40% 的人表示对科学和保护的贡献是他们最初参与该项目的主要原因。随着项目参与的继续，与科学和保护相关的动机变得更加重要（55% 被列为主要的持续动机）。回归分析表明，动机取向因社会人口特征和项目参与水平/类型而异。例如，对于有抱负的项目领导者来说，社会互动和传统比临时观察者更重要。结果突出了对深化项目参与以及招募和留住公民科学家的见解。我们的工具和动机结构在不同的环境中进行了调整和应用，可以帮助促进志愿者管理并增强公民科学