iNaturalist (inaturalist.org)

Article summary

iNaturalist is a free, nonprofit, community-powered platform that allows users to identify plants, animals, fungi, and more, while contributing to a living atlas of life on Earth. The platform has a large community of naturalists who help identify species and has led to the discovery of new species and the protection of local ecosystems. Users can download the iNaturalist app to get real-time identifications and contribute to science. The platform has been used by various individuals, including researchers, conservationists, and hobbyists.

Main themes

• Citizen Science
• Species Identification
• Community Engagement
• Conservation Efforts
• Mobile Apps
• Biodiversity

What commenters say

• The iNaturalist API is a valuable resource for building demos and tutorials, and its open CORS headers make it easy to use.
• Some users find the Seek app, which is related to iNaturalist, to be frustrating due to its frequent 'please don't disturb nature' modal.
• The iNaturalist community is seen as friendly and helpful, with many users appreciating the ease of use and the ability to export data.
• There is a desire for iNaturalist to release their models, which would allow for more transparency and replicability in their science.
• The use of apps like iNaturalist and Merlin Bird ID can lead to a greater appreciation and understanding of nature, and can even inspire new hobbies and interests.
• The process of generating data for these apps is labor-intensive and relies on human classification, which is often done by experts or crowdsourced from users.
• Some users have developed their own projects and games using the iNaturalist API, such as a species-identification game and a website for tracking owl sightings.
• The release of open models by iNaturalist could have significant implications for the scientific community and the public interest.