Uso do inaturalist para verificar a ocorrência da ordem lepidoptera no bioma caatinga.

Abstract

Citizen Science is a collaborative practice in which people, even without scientific training, contribute to the advancement of science through sending data. This voluntary and engaged collaboration improves the quality of scientific data in an accessible and low-cost way. The Caatinga biome is among the biomes with the lowest number of studies related to butterfly and moth fauna. The objective of this work was to identify, through the iNaturalist platform, the occurrence of the order Lepidoptera in the Caatinga biome, describing the geographic distribution seeking to correlate with urbanized and natural areas, with a view to environmental conservation actions. The present study was carried out in the Caatinga biome between 2022 and 2024 based on data obtained in the iNaturalist project “Ocorrência da Ordem Lepidoptera no Bioma Caatinga”. For data analysis and construction of maps, the software R Studio and QGIS were used. The study demonstrated a considerable diversity of species for the set of data analyzed, 760 species were identified, distributed in 29 families. Furthermore, it highlighted the impact of urbanization on these insects. Therefore, the study demonstrated the potential of the platform in collecting relevant data on lepidoptera in the Caatinga, making it necessary to obtain more data related to lepidopterofauna. It also highlights the collaborative importance between the public and researchers, allowing the expansion of data and encouraging conservation initiatives for butterflies and moths in the Caatinga biome.