Useful iNaturalist Tasks for Non-Experts - wiki

[nuujaka]

Just did that!

[whitneybrook]

Thanks for the recommendations! I started identifying unknowns and I found some pictures of people. I tagged them as human, but I’m worried that these may be mistakes. It is possible that the person in the photo doesn’t even know their photo is on this site. Any recommendations for handling these?

[graysquirrel]

Identifying as human is the best course of action - unless they’re showing inappropriate body parts, in which case you can flag them to bring them to staff / curator attention.

[whitneybrook]

Thanks!

[Mercedes-Fletcher]

@graysquirrel

Most observations identified as Rosa chinensis, especially outside of China, are actually cultivated hybrids between many different species, and should only be identified to genus-level

I’d like to add to this a bit by making some more suggestions of organisms that should not be identified to the species level.

• Grape leaffolder/leafroller moth observations should be moved to "Complex Desmia Funeralis " if the observation does not contain a photo of the moth’s underside. These two species are identical from a top-down perspective.

• Grape/Shephard’s Plume moths are indistinguishable as adults without dissections and should be moved to Complex Geina periscelidactylus

• Rheumaptera undulata and R. prunivorata should be moved to Complex Rheumaptera undulata

• Grapevine Looper Moths should be moved to Complex Eulithis diversilineata

• Crocus Geometer Moths (Genus Xanthotype) are impossible to distinguish without dissection and should be left at Genus level

• Pug Moths (Genus Eupithecia) should also be left at Genus level

• Southern Emeralds and Wavy-lined emeralds are impossible to distinguish as caterpillars and should be given the ID “Complex Synchlora aerata”. However, adult moths of these two species can be positively identified.

[dianastuder]

and Bougainvillea, thanks to alexiz kind comments - can’t do species from photos.

[jasonhernandez74]

I’m sorry, but all the references to “plant phrenology” bothered me. Plants do not have heads to feel the bulges on and deduce their personalities. I corrected the spelling to “plant phenology.”

I see so many terrestrial organisms supposedly observed in the middle of the ocean, I added a section about that.

[theorickert]

Thanks for listing the moth complexes! That made it easy to check my observations and make corrections.

[nuujaka]

I see this sometimes happen for me when i take photos on my phone (with geotagging). Probably that the phone couldn’t get the correct coordinate info.

One funny example is that a mushroom in a Swedish forrest became coastal Norway. Ofc quickly fixed.

[Mercedes-Fletcher]

You’re welcome, I’m glad you found it useful! :)

[vreinkymov]

For “Duh, I know it’s a plant!” type responses, linking back to this link or a canned response from Frequently Used Responses may help, like so:

• [link text](https://www.example.com/)

[JaneBP]

@graysquirrel

Identifying “Unknowns”
These are the observations that have been posted without any identification whatsoever. It is useful to put in a basic identification, even if it’s just “Plant” or “Animal” or “Fungi” - this helps more specialized identifiers to find the things they’re interested in looking at.
Further reading
Identify Page for Unknowns

Thanks for putting the link for the Identify Page for Unknowns. When I go directly to the Identify page it does not let me put in “Unknown.”

I’ve done over 100 identifications to Plantae level, but the only ones I have seen comments on are the few that I happened to recognize and identify at a much lower level (duck foot, great horned owl, bumble bee, etc.).

@graysquirrel

Low Growth Countries - If there is a place or a taxon you can help out for Low Growth Countries . Any of the above options would help.

This is a very interesting list of countries. I noticed that many of the smaller countries have between 100 and 130 observers listed in their “people” column. I decided to try to connect with someone in Belize and then maybe get some good field guides and see if I could help out. I made it more than halfway down the list and as far as I can tell, only one or two of the observers listed under People actually live in Belize. I guess that doesn’t really matter, but if most of the people on the list are visiting scientists, I don’t think I have much to offer.

[dianastuder]

@JaneBP

I don’t think I have much to offer.

But you do. Whichever country you choose to help. I work back from today’s obs - where you can hope that comments will be answered, and that the observers are still around to think ooh thank you someone SAW my obs! Demographics (disposable income, leisure, internet access) often mean obs are from tourists or visiting scientists. But I enjoy helping new iNatters who are learning to ‘see’ the nature around them.

Yesterday I went thru a batch of newly uploaded older obs of butterflies from Obudu Plateau in Nigeria. Bonus points since the photos are good. I can lep … and the IDs are rolling in. That observer is active and engaging.

[JaneBP]

@dianastuder

But you do. Whichever country you choose to help.

Thanks for this comment. I chose Belize because I visited some years back and brought some books to a private secondary school that mostly gets by with donations on Caye Caulker. Schooling beyond primary school is not free in Belize. I guess I thought that some young person could use some feedback. I have no scientific training beyond the basic biology/zoology I had in college years ago and I don’t know the area well. So you can see why I don’t think I have much to offer to a traveling scientist who doesn’t live there. But I have seen your posts on the forum before and respect your opinion. If you think that I can actually be of help, I will make the effort to get some nature guides and continue trying to make contact with someone there.

[JaneBP]

@graysquirrel

Moving observations from a higher taxon down to species Ginkgo biloba is of great help! Here are the observations in Class Ginkgoopsida that still need identifications.

I have looked at some of those Class identifications but they are often a photo of an entire tree and the focus or pixels are not adequate to get a good look at individual leaves. Some of them look like they could be Ginkgos because of the way the branches and leaves grow but without an actual in focus leaf I am reluctant to say that they are Ginkgos at all. (Meaning, I can’t say for sure that the Class level ID is correct.)

[fffffffff]

@JaneBP

Thanks for putting the link for the Identify Page for Unknowns. When I go directly to the Identify page it does not let me put in “Unknown.”

All you need to do is choose unknown from iconic taxa.

[JaneBP]

@fffffffff

All you need to do is choose unknown from iconic taxa.

I saw that after I made the post. Kind of a slow learner here on iNat.

[fffffffff]

That’s not slow!.)

[JaneBP]

@greysquirrel I recently read your Tasks for Non-Experts and decided to try some out. Just thought I would share my impressions with you. I am enjoying trying to identify the organisms in the unknown observations more than I thought I would. I was surprised how many of them are observations of plants, probably about 80%. Since I have mostly posted bird and insect observations, I have been trying to brush up my plant identifying skills but I am still IDing a lot of them as Plant, Flowering Plant, or Conifer. It’s a great learning experience and challenge.

During the time I have been on iNat I have heard people on the forums complain about the poor quality of the photos and now I know why they are complaining! I am baffled by landscape shots that include several different plants. I am also surprised by photos that are too blurry to actually identify things. I do get it that sometimes the only photo you can get of something that you really want a photo of is a blurry one. Hard to pass up the observation because the photo is blurry, but I tend to just complain to my partner about the rudeness of the creature that refused to pose for me and let it go. Not everyone feels the same way I do.

I have been surprised by how many people want to know what a discoloration on a leaf is. I learned that I have very little interest in blobby slimy things that could be molds, fungi, jellyfish, seaweed or something else. I don’t think of myself as a narrow-minded person but I have learned that if it doesn’t have legs or leaves, my interest diminishes rapidly.

Nonetheless, this has been fun. Thanks for the tutorial.

[graysquirrel]

I’m glad you’re trying it out, and enjoying it too! Sometimes you come across really weird head-scratchers that are difficult to even figure out the kingdom, but it’s so satisfying when you can finally solve the puzzle.