This project will explore the interface between Computing Science and Ecology with the aim of better understanding of the effectiveness of ecological information provisioning through the internet to canvass both wider interest and participation in monitoring activities.

Information largely provided by members of the public within the two selected initiatives (birds and bumble bees) will be combined with newly gathered ecological information to foster interpretation.

The scope of this project is wide, and the research will therefore address a number of distinct, but related, areas. These include the development of appropriate user interfaces and natural language generation technologies, evaluating impact on end users through feedback and frequency of website visits as well as spatial analysis of ecological data and the conducting of supplementary field ecological studies to generate appropriately rich contributing data that feeds into the interface.