iNaturalist

Community science through iNaturalist directly powers conservation around the world. Many thanks to Anukriti Sharma, Ram Dayal Vaishnav, Jesse Hildebrand, the Citizen Science Task Force, and more for sharing about iNaturalist at the IUCN World Conservation Congress! Catch the pre-conference session with The Naturalist School and iNaturalist team member Tony Iwane: https://tr.ee/QKwot7

A beautiful crab for your feed today. This one is possibly the species Lissoporcellana furcillata! 📷 tantsusoo on iNaturalist 📍 Indonesia 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gc2CnkzU #ObservationOfTheDay

Please bask in the beauty of this bee fly, likely in the Genus Tmemophlebia! iNaturalist community members also suspect that this particular observation marks the first time the genus has been seen in British Columbia. 📷 justinchans on iNaturalist 📍 Canada 🔗: https://lnkd.in/gSY38r_9 #ObservationOfTheDay

"During one of our dives, we spotted a large colony of yellowhead jawfish in the seagrass," says Mélodie Caussat, a diver and high school teacher. "In the colony, two males had their mouths full of eggs." "They are very shy so you have to be very patient to approach them and get a photo. But after about ten minutes, and thanks to my super 90mm macro lens, I managed to get a photo of this doting father." Read more about these amazing fish and Mélodie's story: https://tr.ee/Tx7wqz

Thank you to everyone who joined us at the UMass Boston Bioblitz with TEDxBoston last Saturday! In just one morning nature-exploring session, there were … ➡️ 900+ observations contributed to science ➡️ 325+ species documented in a single day ➡️ Multiple first-ever documentations of species on the UMass Boston campus for the very first time (photos below!) These observations aren't just photos — they're scientific records that can be used to make informed decisions about protecting urban biodiversity. Every single observation adds a valuable data point to our growing understanding of local nature! You can revisit the results (and keep adding identifications!) on the project page: https://buff.ly/YSeqsMx This event wouldn’t have been possible without the amazing support of UMass Boston staff, students, and all the group leaders, partner organizations, and speakers — thank you for helping make the day such a success! Brandeis University, Museum of Science, Earthwise Aware, Charles River Watershed Association, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Boston Green Academy, The Nature Conservancy, Friends of the Blue Hills, Urban Bee Lab, Zoo New England, Concord Land Conservation Trust, Eastie Farm, Northeastern University, Cathleen Stone Island Outward Bound School, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), The Marion Institute, Inc., Trustees of Reservations One Waterfront Initiative

Today, I’m an environmental scientist and nature educator because of citizen science. A few years ago, I started exploring citizen science as a WWF-India volunteer. I began observing nature, connecting with it in ways I never had before, learning about the species around me. I realized just how much there is to appreciate and protect. I’m sharing this because I want to invite you to experience the same joy and impact. It's through the Asia Nature Challenge. You might be wondering...what's citizen science? Well…citizen science is many things. But in this context, it is really simple: it’s when ordinary people, like you and me, observe nature and share what we see in unique structured formats. Those observations actually help real scientific research! This data often also informs policy and conservation. One of the biggest and most accessible platforms for this is iNaturalist (here's a 30-second video on what it is: https://lnkd.in/gzERMteQ). It right now has over 250 million verified submissions, called observations, worldwide. But here’s the thing. Less than 9% of those observations come from Asia, even though our region is full of amazing wildlife and home to over 60% of the world's population. That means a huge part of Asia’s biodiversity isn’t being counted or seen in global discussions. And a huge part of the Asian population is not yet aware that they can actually help. That’s why we started the Asia Nature Challenge in 2024. At CitizenScience.Asia and The Naturalist School, we're working really hard to inspire more Asians to become citizen scientists and environmental stewards. In our very first year, participants recorded over 73,000 observations of 13,000+ species. Proof that together, we can really make a difference. This year, we want to go even further. So, please participate! You can simply download iNaturalist and make contributions on the dates of the Asia Nature Challenge (dates below). 🦋 But to be an official participant, you can sign up here (and receive a certificate too): https://lnkd.in/gQfVVKmT 📅 The dates for this year: • 3–6 October: Explore nature around you. Upload photos and audio of animals or plants onto iNaturalist. • 7–12 October: Help identify what others have uploaded, making it "Research Grade." All you need is the free iNaturalist app. Make an account, and start uploading what you see...whether it’s birds in parks or ants on your leftover snacks. Below are some links to get started. 📝 How to sign up for iNaturalist: https://lnkd.in/gPUKDesR  📸 How to make an observation: https://lnkd.in/gd_MiUKK A huge shout-out to Ram Dayal Vaishnav, Mendel W., and Scott Edmunds for being the OG minds behind the Asia Nature Challenge. #AsiaNatureChallenge #CitizenScience #iNaturalist #Biodiversity #NatureConservation iNaturalist

Do yourself a favor and start asking yourself this question whenever you go outside: “what the heck am I looking at?” And then proceed to spend some more time looking closer at the plants around you … because you’ll almost certainly notice something interesting. If you need some help actually answering the question of what the heck you’re looking at, the iNaturalist community’s got you — just share your photos of wild nature to the (100% free) app. Welcome to the slow hikers club!

It can be tough to capture photographs that effectively show off the diagnostic features of an organism — aka characteristics that help identify the organism to the species level — but sometimes, an otter does it for you. "This river otter did a better job showing off the gonopods than I do in 90% of my own gonopod photos, and it made a confident ID possible. Well done to the river otter and to the photographer for capturing this amazing predation interaction." Read the full story: https://tr.ee/Xozd3c

I’m excited to participate in #ClimateWeekNYC! - I hope you’ll join me in noticing nature around the city with #iNaturalist in between events. I’ll be bioblitzing Battery City Park (75 Battery Place) on Tuesday 9/23 at 9:30 - Hope to see you there!

'Tis the season to search for lumps on plants, aka galls! These growths are created in response to other organisms — often insects, fungi, or bacteria — injecting their chemicals into the plant. Just some of the insects that can induce galls include gall wasps, gall flies, aphids, scale insects, gall midges, and weevils ... but the list goes on. People estimate that there are over 210,000 gall insect species alone, many of which we likely have yet to formally describe. Join the gall celebrations: https://tr.ee/ziMCEH 📷 on iNaturalist: 1. Mushroom Gall Wasp (Heteroecus sanctaeclarae) by cynestor 2. Pittosporum Twig-gall Fly (Phytoliriomyza pittosporocaulis) by nathanael_green 3. Common Spangle Gall Wasp (Neuroterus quercusbaccarum) by andyp22 4. Cypress Flower Gall Midge (Taxodiomyia cupressi) by seangolden 5. Andricus conificus by carnifex 6. Syzygium Leaf Psyllid (Trioza adventicia) by pratyeka 7. Club Gall Wasp (Xanthoteras clavuloides) by wildmare64