Hello everyone, I am an amateur lichenologist with my own herbarium. I am currently using the iNaturalist observation IDs (which I assume is the number in the URL address of the observation) as a reference number for each collected lichen. I would like to ask if anyone can chime in if this makes se…

I think this is correct. iNaturalist is intended to be a vehicle for getting people engaged in biodiversity discovery, and only secondarily serves as a data archive. All the data (with appropriate licensing, as selected by the user) is exported to GBIF, and GBIF is designed to serve as a data archiv…

[image] deboas: I really don’t see how iNaturalist could lose these and continue to function Well, my memory is that they did renumber a lot of nodes a few years ago, and it caused some havoc. So be warned that it is possible, however undesirable.

I have my own numbering system for my specimens. Now that I usually post on iNaturalist photos of the same plants that I collect, I add a line on each label that says, “iNaturalist observation #xxxxxxx.” There’s nothing actually wrong with using only iNaturalist numbers, but you’ll probably have s…

As others have said, still have all the relevant data needed and don’t rely on iNaturalist to house all the information, but I don’t see how it could hurt. If the links break someday in the future, at least all the relevant data is still with your specimen. If you do choose to reference the observat…

[image] plantarum: I think this is correct. iNaturalist is intended to be a vehicle for getting people engaged in biodiversity discovery, and only secondarily serves as a data archive. All the data (with appropriate licensing, as selected by the user) is exported to GBIF, and GBIF is designed to…

[image] jonasgruska: So as I understand, the only downside is (very unlikely) disconnect from iNaturalist system. Your conclusions seem reasonable, based on this response to a similar question: Are observations URLs static?

I’ve put my corresponding observation #s on my specimens. As others in the thread have noted, these are likely to be stable. If for some reason iNat disappears, oh well! Not the first time something on a label has become outdated.

I’ve considered the URL record number in an iNat record the same as a catalogue number for a specimen in a physical museum, although I complained once in this forum (years ago) that the number isn’t shown within the record itself just on the URL line, which makes it hard to find on some platforms. …

Agreed! I was surprised this isn’t a field somewhere else than the URL. So I wrote a little python script that lists me observations that have “collected: yes” field filled in, so I at least have a concise list from a specific date. Planning to expand it for automatic label generation on a small lab…

It’s probably my training in a museum environment. If there is not a permanent catalogue number clearly attached to a specimen/record, that’s a problem.

iNaturalist ID as herbarium reference?

General

bazwal May 23, 2023, 1:18pm 12

Your conclusions seem reasonable, based on this response to a similar question:

Are observations URLs static?

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iNaturalist ID as herbarium reference?

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