iNaturalist September News Highlights

This PBS News Hour segment on the $423 billion annual costs from invasive species endorsed iNaturalist as a way to engage the public in the early detection of invasive species. Minnesota Public Radio’s wonderful story about @krmenzel’s discovery of an invasive beetle is a great example of this.

In New Zealand, this study used iNaturalist to assess the spread of an invasive epiphyte. In Florida, this story described using iNaturalist to find invasive chameleons, and this Scientific Reports paper predicted chameleon invasions with iNaturalist and other data. We love seeing more and more bioblitzes like this one in Canada that incorporate monitoring and removal of invasives like Purple Loosestrife.

This Scientific Reports article used iNaturalist data to identify future refugia for endangered ghost orchids and their pollinators from the effects of climate change. Also published last week, this story about a Nature Climate Change paper by researcher @moore-evo-eco made use of observations from iNaturalist to measure the challenges flying insect face moving to higher elevations as climate changes.

We enjoyed last week’s story on @mathewlbrust‘s adventures with iNaturalist to confirm a new species of beetle in Wyoming and this paper describing a new praying mantis species in Brazil with help from iNaturalist.

@nicolasjouault made the first discovery of a leech in Britain on the back of a ray. Meanwhile, @kirbymorejohn shared observations documenting the first records of scorpions on Palmerston Island. Other range extension research papers that made use of iNaturalist included a paper by @johnascher and colleagues on a bee in California, the first record of a bug in Europe, and the arrival of a webspinner in Cyprus.

In Canada, this study used iNaturalist data to measure motorboat damage to turtles, and this story described the use of iNaturalist to monitor Hudson Bay wolves. In Africa, stories detailed @brandonkemp and colleagues’ wildlife monitoring efforts in Tanzania and @lova_marline and colleagues’ bryophyte surveys in Benin. This study, leveraged iNaturalist to help assess fish populations remotely from a war zone.

iNaturalist data was used in computer vision applications ranging from this robot designed to kill invasive Spotted Lanternflies to this study revealing color variation in salamanders. We’re thrilled that the new NSF funded AI Biodiversity Center will partner with iNaturalist to advance these types of applications at the intersection of AI and biodiversity.

We loved this story about a iNaturalist Biodiversity Survey Sign erected at Quick Point Nature Preserve in Florida by @robcybulski and other Florida Master Naturalists. Other great land stewardship stories included this story about @lizcarr and fellow parishioners using iNaturalist to create EcoChurches, this story about Green Acres Farm, and many stories about local bioblitzes such as this one about the ongoing Baltimore Wood’s bioblitz.

Explore this innovative application of iNaturalist observations to rank US beaches by species diversity and this interactive feature showcasing local Humboldt plants and animals through iNaturalist. In Esquire magazine, Jeff VanderMeer, the author of Annihilation, shared his excitement at discovering a firefly with only 33 observations on iNaturalist while re-wilding his yard. iNaturalist observations beautifully capture the unique flora and fauna that make a piece of land truly exceptional.

We loved this video promoting the 2023 MarbleBowl and this video promoting EuroBioBlitz 2023. There was also great coverage of India Big Butterfly Month 2023 found here, California Biodiversity Day found here, and Parks for Pollinators found here.

Our favorite September piece profiling an iNatter was this story about @sallyslak’s journey from iNatting bugs during the pandemic to co-authoring a scientific paper on tortoise beetle poop architecture (not kidding).

Other September stories include this excellent profile on Florida iNatters @billpranty and @dmfraser, this profile on New Zealand iNatter @carey-knox-southern-scales, as well as stories about bot flies on chipmunks featuring @equalrights4parasites, summer cicadas featuring @pufferchung, New Jersey Mushroom hunting featuring @gabrielamushroom, giant carabid beetles featuring @jtweed, and stories about bee research by @kjhung and research at the San Diego Natural history museum by @sclerobunus. We also enjoyed @emilymstone’s excellent natural history article on observing a mite on a beetle larvae and @greatauntcarolyn’s article about photographing butterflies around Ontario.