Review of the iNaturalist App

 Luckily enough, I gained some experience with the iNaturalist app in undergrad and used it for some labs in my natural resources curriculum. However, when I first used it I was in Vermont where I had studied local species and was tested on specific species many times. Thus, using iNaturalist in that environment where I had a pretty good understanding of what things were in the woods - allowed me to use the app as reassurance or confirmation that I had correctly identified a species. However, since moving to Hawaii and being in law school, I have not had much time to learn about native species or test myself as I learn. Thus, rediscovering the iNaturalist app has been extremely helpful and eye-opening. 

When using the iNaturalist app, you can use it for your own identifications or to connect socially to see what other people have identified in your area. Sure! Thus, when you take a photo by yourself, you then upload it to the app and it provides an initial identification of the species, which you can choose to accept. 

As explained above, to connect socially as well - more users and scientists contribute, and they may offer more precise identifications or correct the initial one if needed. You can then opt to accept their suggestions. The app conveniently records and displays the date, time, location, the initial ID, and a 'data quality' rating, indicating whether the ID is preliminary and pending verification or has been professionally confirmed. Like this post below, veschist posted in November of 2023 and identified a local plant near my neighborhood. 

The app is also a fantastic tool for contributing to citizen science. Every observation you make helps researchers track biodiversity and monitor environmental changes. It’s rewarding to know that your simple act of sharing what you see can play a part in important conservation efforts! I think that a key takeaway that I learned from this app is how helpful it can be in understanding your local environment. 

 

One downside of the iNaturalist app is that it depends a lot on user input, which can sometimes lead to mistakes. While many people are knowledgeable, not everyone is an expert, and misidentifications can happen. This can mess with the data quality and give a skewed picture of where certain species are found. It’s a reminder that while the community is super helpful, it’s always good to double-check info when you can!

I was able to find some information about my particular study area and the species that people were able to identify there while snorkeling! Super cool!

Overall, I really benefited from this activity and really enjoyed diving back into the iNaturalist app. It is cool that the app saves all of your data and you can see everything you have identified in the past. I appreciate that tool and it was nostalgic to look back on what I used to see in the New England woods.