Who Gathers Biodiversity Information?

Biodiversity information is gathered by a wide variety of individuals and organisations for an equally wide variety of uses. 
 
At least half the records stored by Local Records Centres are gathered by "amateur experts"; individuals, groups and clubs who identify the species and habitats present in certain locations purely out of interest. For more information see this Amateur Experts Report led by Lancaster University. This information provides a very useful indication of the presence and abundance of particular species. However, it is of restricted use when investigating other issues, because the information is, by its nature, patchy. More information is available in areas where most effort is directed, an effect known as recorder bias. This is true in terms of geography (those areas with easiest access and that are richest in the species of interest will be studied more) and species (types that are more popular such as birds, butterflies and moths will be recorded more than, for example, ants or beetles). In some cases, however, the gathering of this information by volunteers is coordinated to provide extremely valuable data, with good overall cover and which is regularly updated. An example of this is monitoring bird populations to provide Wild Bird Indicators, work which is coordinated by the British Trust for Ornithology and the RSPB. Local Records Centres also coordinate volunteers and can gather some biodiversity information themselves. 
 
Other agencies that collect biodiversity information include a number of statutory agencies, including Natural England, the Environment Agency and Defra both through their core activities and through externally funded projects. Local Authorities (County, Borough, District and City Councils) may also collect biodiversity information for a number of reasons, including the Natural Environment and Rural Communities Act duty to conserve biodiversity. See the Defra NERC guidance for Local Authorities and the Association of Local Government Ecologists. 
 
Finally commercial ecological consultants charge for gathering biodiversity information, for example for the planning process and to monitor biodiversity sites and projects.