The benefits of contributing to the citizen science platform iNaturalist as an identifier

Corey T Callaghan^{1

2}, Thomas Mesaglio^{3

4}, John S Ascher⁵, Thomas M Brooks^{6

7

8}, Analyn A Cabras⁹, Mark Chandler¹⁰, William K Cornwell⁴, Indiana Cristóbal Ríos-Málaver^{11

12}, Even Dankowicz¹³, Naufal Urfi Dhiya'ulhaq¹⁴, Richard A Fuller¹⁵, Carlos Galindo-Leal¹⁶, Florencia Grattarola¹⁷, Susan Hewitt¹⁸, Lila Higgins¹⁹, Colleen Hitchcock¹³, Keng-Lou James Hung²⁰, Tony Iwane²¹, Paula Kahumbu²², Roger Kendrick²³, Samuel R Kieschnick²⁴, Gernot Kunz²⁵, Chien C Lee²⁶, Cheng-Tao Lin²⁷, Scott Loarie²¹, Milton Norman Medina⁹, Mark A McGrouther²⁸, Lera Miles²⁹, Shaunak Modi³⁰, Katarzyna Nowak³¹, Rahayu Oktaviani³², Brian M Waswala Olewe^{33

34

35}, James Pagé³⁶, Silviu Petrovan³⁷, Cassi Saari³⁸, Carrie E Seltzer²¹, Alexey P Seregin³⁹, Jon J Sullivan⁴⁰, Amila P Sumanapala⁴¹, Aristide Takoukam⁴², Jane Widness⁴³, Keith Willmott¹¹, Wolfgang Wüster⁴⁴, Alison N Young⁴⁵

Affiliations

¹ German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
² Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
³ Centre for Ecosystem Science; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁶ International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Gland, Switzerland.
⁷ World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Philippines.
⁸ Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁹ Coleoptera Research Center, Institute of Biodiversity and Environment, University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines.
¹⁰ Earthwatch Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
¹¹ McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
¹² Instituto de Investigaciones de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Claustro de San Agustín, Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia.
¹³ Biology Department; Brandeis University; Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
¹⁴ Independent Researcher, Mlati, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
¹⁵ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁶ Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad: Ciudad de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
¹⁷ Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Praha, Czech Republic.
¹⁸ Independent Researcher, New York, New York, United States of America.
¹⁹ Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
²⁰ Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, United States of America.
²¹ iNaturalist, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
²² Wildlife Direct, Nairobi, Kenya.
²³ Director, C & R Wildlife, Tai Po, Hong Kong.
²⁴ Urban Wildlife Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
²⁵ Karl Franzens University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, Department of Biology, Graz, Austria.
²⁶ Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
²⁷ Department of Biological Resources, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan.
²⁸ Senior Fellow, Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
²⁹ UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³⁰ Coastal Conservation Foundation, Matunga West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
³¹ Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Białowieża Geobotanical Station, Białowieża, Poland.
³² Yayasan Konservasi Ekosistem Alam Nusantara (KIARA), West Java, Indonesia.
³³ Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya.
³⁴ Baruk Yadiym Ecosphere, Nairobi, Kenya.
³⁵ Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Nairobi, Kenya.
³⁶ Canadian Wildlife Federation, Kanata, Ontario, Canada.
³⁷ Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³⁸ Chicago Park District, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
³⁹ M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
⁴⁰ Department of Pest-Management and Conservation, Lincoln University, New Zealand.
⁴¹ Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
⁴² African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO), Kassala-Beach, Dizangue, Littoral, Cameroon.
⁴³ Yale University Department of Anthropology, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
⁴⁴ Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom.
⁴⁵ California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America.

PMID: 36355752
PMCID: PMC9648699
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001843

The benefits of contributing to the citizen science platform iNaturalist as an identifier

Corey T Callaghan et al. PLoS Biol. 2022.

. 2022 Nov 10;20(11):e3001843.

doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001843. eCollection 2022 Nov.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
² Institute of Biology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Saale), Germany.
³ Centre for Ecosystem Science; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; Sydney, Australia.
⁴ Evolution & Ecology Research Centre; School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences; UNSW Sydney; Sydney, Australia.
⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
⁶ International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Gland, Switzerland.
⁷ World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of the Philippines, Los Baños, Philippines.
⁸ Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
⁹ Coleoptera Research Center, Institute of Biodiversity and Environment, University of Mindanao, Davao City, Philippines.
¹⁰ Earthwatch Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
¹¹ McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, Florida Museum of Natural History, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, United States of America.
¹² Instituto de Investigaciones de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Claustro de San Agustín, Villa de Leyva, Boyaca, Colombia.
¹³ Biology Department; Brandeis University; Waltham, Massachusetts, United States of America.
¹⁴ Independent Researcher, Mlati, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
¹⁵ School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
¹⁶ Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad: Ciudad de Mexico, Ciudad de México, Mexico.
¹⁷ Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Praha, Czech Republic.
¹⁸ Independent Researcher, New York, New York, United States of America.
¹⁹ Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, California, United States of America.
²⁰ Oklahoma Biological Survey, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, United States of America.
²¹ iNaturalist, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America.
²² Wildlife Direct, Nairobi, Kenya.
²³ Director, C & R Wildlife, Tai Po, Hong Kong.
²⁴ Urban Wildlife Biologist, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Dallas, Texas, United States of America.
²⁵ Karl Franzens University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, Department of Biology, Graz, Austria.
²⁶ Institute of Biodiversity and Environmental Conservation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.
²⁷ Department of Biological Resources, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan.
²⁸ Senior Fellow, Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
²⁹ UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³⁰ Coastal Conservation Foundation, Matunga West, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
³¹ Faculty of Biology, University of Warsaw, Białowieża Geobotanical Station, Białowieża, Poland.
³² Yayasan Konservasi Ekosistem Alam Nusantara (KIARA), West Java, Indonesia.
³³ Maasai Mara University, Narok, Kenya.
³⁴ Baruk Yadiym Ecosphere, Nairobi, Kenya.
³⁵ Kenya National Commission for UNESCO, Nairobi, Kenya.
³⁶ Canadian Wildlife Federation, Kanata, Ontario, Canada.
³⁷ Conservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
³⁸ Chicago Park District, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
³⁹ M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
⁴⁰ Department of Pest-Management and Conservation, Lincoln University, New Zealand.
⁴¹ Department of Zoology and Environment Sciences, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.
⁴² African Marine Mammal Conservation Organization (AMMCO), Kassala-Beach, Dizangue, Littoral, Cameroon.
⁴³ Yale University Department of Anthropology, New Haven, Connecticut, United States of America.
⁴⁴ Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory, School of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom.
⁴⁵ California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California, United States of America.

PMID: 36355752
PMCID: PMC9648699
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001843

Abstract

As the number of observations submitted to the citizen science platform iNaturalist continues to grow, it is increasingly important that these observations can be identified to the finest taxonomic level, maximizing their value for biodiversity research. Here, we explore the benefits of acting as an identifier on iNaturalist.

Copyright: This is an open access article, free of all copyright, and may be freely reproduced, distributed, transmitted, modified, built upon, or otherwise used by anyone for any lawful purpose. The work is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

**Fig 1. Selection of iNaturalist’s most favorited observations.**
(a) Picasso Bug (*Sphaerocoris annulus*), Alan Manson (@alandmanson); (b) South African Hippopotamus (*Hippopotamus amphibius* ssp. *capensis*) ferrying Helmeted Turtles (*Pelomedusa subrufa*), Serrated Hinged Terrapins (*Pelusios sinuatus*), and a Hamerkop (*Scopus umbretta*), Maritza de Kock (@maritzasouthafrica); (c) Palau Nautilus (*Nautilus belauensis*), Kai Squires (@squiresk); (d) juvenile Tasselled Leatherjacket (*Chaetodermis penicilligerus*), Glen Whisson (@glen_whisson); (e) Socotran Desert Rose (*Adenium obesum* ssp. *sokotranum*), Morten Ross (@morten); (f) Cuban Tody (*Todus multicolor*), Wayne Fidler (@wayne_fidler).

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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The benefits of contributing to the citizen science platform iNaturalist as an identifier

Affiliations

The benefits of contributing to the citizen science platform iNaturalist as an identifier

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

Figures

References

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Research Materials