Abstract Coastal estuaries in the northern Gulf of Mexico are important habitat for wading birds, but are threatened by land use and ecological changes. Conservation has been demonstrated to be more effective when stakeholders are included in the decision-making process. Public Participation Geographic Information Systems (PPGIS) facilitates the inclusion of stakeholder preferences in the planning process by allowing a direct spatial comparison with other ecological data. In this study, we used a PPGIS survey of residents of two counties on Alabama’s Gulf Coast to identify wading bird conservation hotspots as identified by local residents. Additionally, we assessed the ability of general public respondents to accurately identify wading bird habitat, determined whether participants associated wading bird habitat with particular land cover types, and examined whether respondents identified areas with high wading bird species richness. We found that respondents could accurately identify suitable wading bird habitat on a map of the study area, but underrepresented riparian forest, which is an important habitat for many wading bird species. Additionally, participants tended to prioritize areas that support higher wading bird species richness. Thus, this study demonstrated how PPGIS can function as an important tool for incorporating both stakeholder management preferences and identifying knowledge gaps.

中文翻译：

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公众参与地理信息系统在沿海涉水鸟类保护中的应用

摘要 墨西哥湾北部沿海河口是涉水鸟类的重要栖息地，但受到土地利用和生态变化的威胁。当利益相关者参与决策过程时，保护已被证明更有效。公众参与地理信息系统 (PPGIS) 允许与其他生态数据进行直接空间比较，从而促进将利益相关者的偏好纳入规划过程。在这项研究中，我们对阿拉巴马州墨西哥湾沿岸两个县的居民进行了 PPGIS 调查，以确定当地居民确定的涉水鸟类保护热点。此外，我们评估了一般公众受访者准确识别涉水鸟栖息地的能力，确定参与者是否将涉水鸟栖息地与特定的土地覆盖类型相关联，并检查受访者是否确定了涉水鸟类物种丰富度高的地区。我们发现，受访者可以在研究区域的地图上准确地确定合适的涉水鸟类栖息地，但河岸森林的代表性不足，而河岸森林是许多涉水鸟类的重要栖息地。此外，参与者倾向于优先考虑支持更高涉水鸟类物种丰富度的区域。因此，本研究展示了 PPGIS 如何成为整合利益相关者管理偏好和识别知识差距的重要工具。此外，参与者倾向于优先考虑支持更高涉水鸟类物种丰富度的区域。因此，本研究展示了 PPGIS 如何成为整合利益相关者管理偏好和识别知识差距的重要工具。此外，参与者倾向于优先考虑支持更高涉水鸟类物种丰富度的区域。因此，本研究展示了 PPGIS 如何成为整合利益相关者管理偏好和识别知识差距的重要工具。