Good day everyone!
I know there was, possibly still is, an active thread about doing science outside of an academic setting. What I’m wondering was touched on by a few of those comments but I’m re-asking here because I’m curious.
How can I as a “non practicing” scientist, e.g. I’m working as a school nurse not in a lab, support the scientists in the labs. I know there is something to be said about reading their papers if I can manage a modicum of understanding, or by just knowing the areas but I’ve wanted to be a bigger part of the discovery process.
I am inspired by reading about the inat trial of the fungal “Provisional IDs” and it reminds me of my field biology days with the Masked bobwhite quail, the cactus ferruginous pygmy owl (CFPO) and the Pima Pinapple Cactus and my other work with Mary Hunnicut. I look back on those memories fondly. But with this inspiration I feel like I reach a dead end of where I am useful other than spreading my interest to others and encouraging them? Do any of y’all have concrete ideas on how to help research if you are not in the field? Do I need to stop being so critical of my efforts to encourage science and IDs?
I really enjoyed reading your post — thank you for sharing your perspective! It’s always motivating to see how others are engaging with iNaturalist. For me, my main passion is springtails. They’re tiny, often overlooked (most people haven’t even heard of them) but endlessly fascinating.
When I’m working with them, I’ll often spend time examining specimens under a microscope. Sometimes I can bring an observation all the way down to species level, but even reaching genus is rewarding. Especially with rarer subjects, those notes and IDs are extremely valuable. Scientists can use them for understanding which species are present in a given area, describing new ones, and building a clearer picture of biodiversity overall.
I’ve had plenty of “detective” moments where I’m piecing together clues from tiny morphological features until I finally land on a confident ID. And then, knowing that this observation is now part of a global dataset, accessible to researchers and enthusiasts alike, makes the effort feel worthwhile. Even simple notes about where a springtail was found — leaf litter, moss, compost, or snow (yep, they can even be found on snow!) — can provide ecological context that helps build a richer picture of how species interact with their environment.
It’s worth remembering too that without hobbyists, taxonomy itself might not even exist to the extent it does now. So much of the foundational work in natural history has been built on the careful observations of dedicated amateurs. iNaturalist continues that tradition by giving us a platform where our curiosity and persistence can directly feed into science.
That’s why I think our contributions, whether they’re species-level IDs, careful documentation of habitat, or even just habitus photos, are so important. They may look like small steps, but collectively they create a massive dataset that scientists can draw from.
So that’s a little about what drives me here on iNaturalist. I’d love to hear more about you — what animal (or plant, or fungus!) are you particularly interested in!
What do you want to do – what would help you feel like you are making a bigger contribution?
It sounds like what you have enjoyed in the past is field biology and you are primarily interested in knowing that your data is being used but you don’t necessarily feel a need to publish yourself, is that correct?
I don’t know where you are located, but maybe you could get in touch with scientists or nature conservation groups in your larger region who are working on taxa that interest you. They might have projects where citizen scientists and/or volunteers can get involved collecting data and specimens. Or you could see if there are any naturalist societies in your area (birding, botany, entomology, etc.) – these are quite often open to laypeople and not just working scientists and there might be inspiration there from projects other people are working on.
In general, I think building up your networks around a taxon that you are passionate about is a good way to find new ways of engagement and figure out what you can contribute.
Well that’s the million dollar question. I guess sometimes I think that my ID work on inat isn’t helping much. I am currently in the process of getting ID guides for various small things that are a challenge to ID, think lichens, galls, and such.
I also am interested in the “little brown mushrooms” that plague the world. Pretty much anything small that supports a whole system.
I live in Albuquerque NM, which does have a university but I have encountered struggles to get in contact with people there, mostly non response to e-mails or calls. They probably have a lot on their plates, this is not a complaint.
I have started a personal list of introduced plants in the area and I keep on trying to stay up to date on that. As well as putting together two separate lichen projects for the state but I’m not sure if those are actually helpful.
You are correct that I don’t have a desire to publish, mostly because I recognize that I don’t have the patience nor the time to get the underlying knowledge and schooling to reach the point of publishing. Calculus kills me, every time.
Hello, I also live in Albuquerque but I’m not much into the organisms you are interested in. Or, more accurately, I don’t know them very well. But you might check out this local group: https://nmms.wildapricot.org/
If you haven’t been to any of their meetings, they are interesting and a great resource if you are looking for foraging resources.
I’ve missed the last few but they are great.
I’ve found over the years that if you want to get involved in a research project but aren’t already in academia or working for an agency with ties to academia, you have to cultivate that relationship with a researcher by volunteering to assist in the field or lab. Sometimes there isn’t the interest by the researcher. But local clubs like this one are an entry point to make those connections. My start in herpetology was through the New Mexico Herpetological Society as a teenager which led to volunteer research work and then actual paying jobs in that field.
Depending on what taxa you are interested in, @egordon88 might be another user you could ask for ideas about organizations or projects you could get involved with in New Mexico.
Do those of you who have breached into the “scientific world” of science do you have any other ideas for laymen to join? What have been weird little treasure troves of information you have stumbled upon that helped you out?
You could pick one or two recent arrivals and follow their spread, if they do. That would be publishable, especially if you can say something about their ecological needs and impacts.
To complement your personal list of introduced plants in the area, you could map them. Make an observation of each of them, every time or every tenth time, you come across them in you local area. many people do not even photograph known weeds!
I photograph several weed cacti and their associated biocontrol agents wherever I travel. This is to help document their spread. A researcher reached out to me and now I am documenting sites (photographing and uploading to iNat) where I see evidence of biocontrol agents at work. Zach put a lovely thank you note on a recent observation. Here are my observations of Tree Pear - Opuntia tomentosa: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations?subview=map&taxon_id=165906&user_id=ruth-palsson . For various reasons, I drive long distances and I do this on the way. If there are heaps, I will stop every 10 mins to make a record.
Keep photographing weeds. You will possibly turn up something that is not officially known in your area. This is another one of mine that extended the known iNat range by about 700 km: https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/observations/241082465
Sometimes people write to me asking for help with seed collection. Last year, I sent genetic samples from Orobanche to Moscow. I also send herbarium samples of plants and fungi to local specialists I know through INat. So, for ordinary users like us, there are many ways to participate in scientific research.