Monitoring the biodiversity of plants and animals is essential to understanding the state of nature and the signs of climate change. And everyone can contribute ‘from below’ to this collective knowledge, thanks to the ingenious iNaturalist app.
iNaturalist, the app of researchers and activists
The iNaturalist app is free, available for android and iOs. Registered users can upload images and information of the most diverse animal and plant species to the database. And not necessarily rare.
‘Every observation can contribute to the science of biodiversity, from the rarest butterfly to the most common grass in your yard. We share your findings with scientific databases such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility in order to help scientists find and use your data. All you have to do is observe!‘, warn the founders of iNaturalist.
The genius from three students
The iNaturalist.org platform began in 2008 as the final master’s degree project of three students (Ken-ichi Ueda, Nate Agrin and Jessica Kline) from UCBerkeley’s School of Information.
In 2014 iNaturalist became an initiative of the California Academy of Sciences, and in 2017 the National Geographic Society also affiliated.
The reliability and gratuitousness of the data has made it a valuable asset for researchers, an exemplary case of citizen science, as noted in a study published by Nature Ecology and Evolution. (1)
How it works
iNaturalist allows you to photograph and upload any animal and plant species to the database, and add your own considerations or information to share with a large community of researchers and conservationists. Geolocation makes it possible to detect any changes in biodiversity.
At the end of October 2022, the app counts
- Nearly 6 million members (5,777,469),
- More than 119 million observations,
- More than 400 thousand plant species observed.
The pop arm of iNaturalist
Recognizing plants and animals at a glance is a common skill only among experts. Thus, the iNaturalist team created Seek, another app that uses artificial intelligence (AI) for rapid recognition of plants and animals.
A valuable tool for participating in biodiversity mapping without risking sharing incorrect or misleading information.
Notes
(1) A. Dance. Community science draws on the power of the crowd. Nature 609, 641-643 (2022). doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02921-3
Professional journalist since January 1995, he has worked for newspapers (Il Messaggero, Paese Sera, La Stampa) and periodicals (NumeroUno, Il Salvagente). She is the author of journalistic surveys on food, she has published the book "Reading labels to know what we eat".
