Volunteer-run cameras as distributed sensors for macrosystem mammal research

McShea and colleagues described the eMammal model, in which trained volunteers operate camera traps across broad regions and contribute expertly verified images to a centralized, standardized data repository suitable for large-scale, long-term mammal research. By coordinating distributed citizen scientists under common protocols and quality control, eMammal generates continental-scale datasets that no single research team could collect, enabling studies of mammal distribution, abundance, and responses to land use across macrosystems. The paper articulated how citizen science, standardization, and data archiving combine to scale camera trapping up to the regional and continental level. It is a foundational reference for the eMammal program and for the broader vision of volunteer-powered, networked camera-trap monitoring that feeds rigorous, comparable ecological analyses.