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Citizen Science during Covid-19

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During these uncertain times going outside has been one of the only methods of respite and adventure people can really participate in. Many citizen science programs, events and volunteering opportunities have been limited/ cancelled. Thanks to technology we can reduce these limitations and open up new opportunities and worlds for people to explore.  During this time I have seen so many more people outside hiking, biking, going on picnics and doing water-sports. People are beginning to explore nature in new ways, places and with new perspectives than before. Anytime I am out using my iNaturalist app I get so many questions about what I am doing and how it works. People have a thirst for knowledge and information and if all they need is a phone to understand nature they are experiencing right in front of them, they are willing to try.  While hiking this past weekend at Patuxent Wildlife Refuge I was kneeling down taking pictures of some water lillies I found. An older couple approached m
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Observations

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Starting with iNaturalist Starting with the app was as easy as downloading and exploring the app itself. When you open the app it immediately opens "My Observations" from there you can navigate between other pages. From "Explore" which zooms you into a satellite imagery map showing you your location and observations people have made around you. Then is the "Activity"tab where you can see IDs that people have suggested for your observations. Then of course there is the "Observe: tab where it opens your phones camera and you can take pictures or pull pictures from you camera roll to add to your observations. Learning and navigating the app is all the training you really receive unless you explore the web version where there is a bit more information about observations and research grade information. Time to Observe! There is PLENTY of biota out in the field to observe.  When you make an observation it also makes a suggestion based on your geolocation an
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Public Outreach

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Common Slider Using the iNaturalist app has been a fascinating and enlightening experience. On many of the job sites I go to I find new plant and insect species that I have never found before or ones I have seen many times but never took the time to identify them. Its really interesting to find a species and then to see other people who identify them either verify what I believe the species is or suggest something different. So far about half of my observations have been confirmed by other users and are now considering research grade observations.   Japanese Beetle The iNaturalist app is easily found through a web search or even an app search. If you type into any search engine "wildlife ID" or even just "nature identification" iNaturalist is one of the top 5 links that pop up. They have even created a new app called Seek which I also use on a regular basis for species identification. Many articles call it the Shazam for nature. The people behind iNaturalist continu
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Project Design

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Once the data is collected by the citizen scientists, other citizen scientists, researchers and taxonomic experts can assist with identification. Researchers who are interested in using the data that has been collected and appropriately identified can use their "expert tool" to query searches specifically for their needs (as shown below). Once you query the specific species in the area and time frame the scientist is looking for they can then decide what data from the query they would like to export. This can range from time zone, lat, long, species, common name as well as the quality grade it was given by iNaturalist.  I think the largest problem that users seem to have is that they do not put enough data or correct data in the app for someone to correctly identify the organism. Often times people will not put their location or will simply leave the organism identified as "Unknown". This leaves thousands of images for someone to sift through for identification. Peo
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Introduction to iNaturalist

The purpose behind iNaturalist serves various stakeholders and citizens. At its core it encourages people to go outside and explore and discover what nature has to offer. It provides a service where people can photograph biota and identify it often down to the exact species. Not only does the app help you identify the organism pictured but it also allows others to contribute to that identification. In addition to species identification iNaturalist has become a data source for various scientific and environmental organizations. They can use the observations, locations and photos to contribute to their studies of biodiversity and species coverage across the globe.  There are various people running the app and website the contributors can be found on their About  link. In addition to their staff they have two major contributors to their initiative including California Academy of Sciences and National Geographic Society. While they are based in the US they have apps and communities on a gl
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