Contributory project: It is designed by scientists, and citizens participate in data collection.  Collaborative project: Citizens participate in data collection and analysis.  Co-created project: Citizens participate in all stages of the scientific process. 

Monitor the presence of an invasive alien species (IAS) in Argentina, the red-bellied squirrel Callosciurus erythraeus. 

Update this species distribution and compare it with previous studies to evaluate its expansion.  Understand the invasion process of an IAS.  Identify priority areas to provide environmental education, and implement prevention measures, or other handling techniques for the species.  Popularize the importance of citizen responsibility and engagement in the knowledge, information dissemination, and prevention of biological invasions, its relation to the ownership of exotic pets, and the illegal trade of introduced wild species. 

Citizens participate in reporting squirrel sightings, indicating their location as precisely as possible, and, optionally, sharing photos of squirrels or any evidence showing they are at a site (nests, eaten fruit, or bark stripping). Records must be uploaded to the digital platform ArgentiNat from a computer or to the app INaturalist using a mobile phone. 

10/13/2021 - N/A. 

Mariela Borgnia, Grupo de Ecología de Mamíferos Introducidos (EMI)/Institute of Ecology and Sustainable Development (INEDES)/National University of Luján (UNLu)-Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) 

Email: mariborgnia@gmail.com  Web: www.emi.unlu.edu.ar  Plataform ArgentiNat to upload records: argentinat.org/projects/monitoreo-ardillas-introducidas-unlu