I’ve realized I might be passing up on a lot of observation opportunities subconsciously because of the community and personal biases, and am interested in what others think!
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
I’m sure there’s a hundred other questions to ask and answer, so if there’s anything I’m missing that you want to talk about feel free to include it!
I started with just birds but I’m in the field a lot and as a heavy user of iNat, naturally I spread out to other taxa when I’m birdwatching. I am limited a little bit that I can’t photograph small insects with my super telephoto but I like to take some plants now, and Odonata. Anything that seems interesting will get uploaded too.
For the birds, I won’t be taking everything. If a nice photo opportunity of something I’ve photographed 100s of times, I’ll take it though. For iNat, there’s definitely an effort level I make sure to stick to, so I don’t cross over into burn-out.
I also started with birds. I still tend to take more of them than anything. I expanded to mammals, reptiles and such fairly quickly. I have since tried to make observations of all organisms aiming especially for ones I have not recorded before but trying to get just about anything interesting. I feel there is always some form of bias to what we photograph. Mine is birds for sure.
I am not more likely to observe an organism if it has been identified in the past, but if it has gotten engagement (e.g., a researcher who says he/she is studying this species), then I am more likely to post an observation of it.
Yes.
Sorta. Most of what I observe are plants, followed by spiders, but I will also post insects, fungi, and even birds. For birds, it usually takes an unusually striking one OR one that keeps diving and screaming at me.
Absolutely, it’s one of the main reasons I look through the Needs ID pile.
Here are some other factors that affect what I (and probably others) observe:
Height. I almost never post things that are above my eye level.
Moisture. Most of my observations are from dry-moist habitats, very very few are from wet habitats due to the practical issues of walking in mud with everyday shoes.
“Showiness” of organism.
Encounter frequency. When I’m in a hurry, I usually have to see something three or more times before I finally decide to stop and photograph it.
Proximity to human structures. I spend every free moment I can outdoors, but I don’t get many free moments, which means most of my “observing period” is walking between buildings and from cars to buildings.
It’s cool how many people started out with, or primarily observe birds! It’s a hobby and interest I could never get into, but I envy those who could! Personally it feels near impossible to get a satisfactory picture of them with my iPhone, especially with how flighty they are.
True! I mostly photograph arthropods, but I’ve started branching out to things like plants and vertebrates, I’ve probably missed out on some unique plant species because I’m too fixated on the spider sitting on it!
Even with me branching out I feel like that preference is always going to be there and will reflect on my observations.
I didn’t even think about environmental factors! I don’t have a moisture or temperature preference, but if an area has super dense vegetation where I can’t walk more than 3 steps without having to climb over something, I’m not going to stick around there to observe as much as I could. There’s beautiful aspen trees hugging every creek, lake, and river out here, but they grow so close together with rose and poison ivy bushes filling any other gaps, and it’s near impossible to move through it.
I almost always have a mission, but while fulfilling the mission, I add other stuff.
Examples of missions:
Can I show how to identify oaks by their buds and leaf scars?
Have the digger bees started making their nests yet?
What can I find under logs in early spring?
If I lead a nature walk about smells, what should I include?
On a familiar trail that’s been well documented, I mainly look for things that show special features or phenology, things like overwintering fruits and seeds for plants, larvae and eggs for animals — maybe two to a dozen observations for the trail.
On a new trail, I have two or three taxa I ALWAYS document, and then I go for representative organisms or ones I don’t recognize, and I may get a lot of observations, 50 to 100.
I will admit, I wish I had a better camera for bird photography. I don’t use my phone camera very often unless I forgot the camera but it’s not very good even close up.
Same story here! I started with birds and mushrooms and now I’ve started to expand to arthropods and reptiles. I find out about a lot of different niches on the forums and by following people. I’m going to try to use the labs I have access to at my school to start observing and learning about microscopic life and then this summer I want to try and find some massospora and cicadas!
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
No and yes. As one of the reasons I post to iNat is to see if I can ID something, if it’s already been IDed, I’ll only post it again if it says something different about the organism: new area, phenology, interesting behaviour etc., BUT If it’s attracted especial interest from an IDer, I may actually look for it specifically in the hopes of learning more/being useful.
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
I’ll not exactly pass up the observations, but if I’ve observed an organism many times, I’ll probably not go on recording it ad infinitum. The same rule as above tends to apply.
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
I’m interested and fascinated by everything and by their interactions, but my particular loves are plants and arthropods, followed by fungi and slime moulds (pretty difficult to find where I live, otherwise I’d place them further up on the list).
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
Absolutely yes, I LOVE a good mission! This includes going to places with the deliberate aim of finding a certain species, particularly plants.
Another reason I’ll often observe and post is if I think the photos I get might be useful to help others ID the organism, so I’ll try and get images of particular diagnostic details.
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
No. Although I also like to use iNaturalist to find edible plants to forage or propagate.
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
I will if its still extremely common after a long time at where I find one. Dandelions and feral Pigeons in cities and towns are great examples of that. Although if its very beneficial for the area its found in or if it has human uses, I’ll likely take a closer look at it.
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
Yeah I tend to, my main biological interest is plants (especially edible ones and natives). Although I can be also curious about insects; animals, and fungi.
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
Yep, especially if they’re edible plants or interesting native plants!
1. Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
I don’t know if I’m more likely to observe it again, but I’m less likely to report it if I already know what it is.
2. Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
Yes. If the species is common, I want a good or unusual photo before sharing it.
3. Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
I don’t stick to particular niches but I’m more likely to take pictures of animals. We have a sort of work division in the family; my brother is more into botany and I’m more into zoology.
4. Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
Yes, but often what I decide to look for is not what I end up seeing :).
A couple of other factors that affects what I observe:
novelty: I take more pictures and post more observations when I’m in an unfamiliar biotope, in part because I need more help with ID’ing, in part because I need to document local species while I have the chance.
time of year: I mostly take pictures during holidays and the longest holiday here (Denmark) is in summer. Also, the weather is nicer and conditions for animal photography are better (more light, less rain, longer days).
time of day: It’s hard to get good photos at night. I also tend to sleep.
above/below water: Aquatic organisms are harder to access and documenting them typically requires waterproof equipment. I don’t own that so a group like fish is a huge blind spot.
organism size: Tiny animals are harder to notice - and easier to ignore.
I notice birds when I’m in the field, but I rarely make observations of them for iNat, because I don’t have the right kind of camera to make decent photos of most birds, aside from dead ones.
I definitely take more photos of something if a previous observation of mine has been IDed or commented on, but usually that’s true just for the less common taxa. Galls and leafminers are the big examples of that for me, but come to think of it.
There are many taxonomic niches I don’t pay much attention to, either because I don’t have the right kind of camera (birds) or I know way too little about them (most fungi) or I’m too impatient to collect and curate them for proper IDs (bees) or they move too fast (ants) or my brain just can’t take in any more information (graminoids).
On any single walk, I try to make an observation of every organism I have a hope of identifying to species (so yes, I make lots of observations of common species), but there are lots of constraints on that - time of year, whether I’m hiking with people who just want to get to the top of the mountain rather than examining every leaf along the way, and so on.
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
Yes. I didn’t know about Hornworts before so I could not see them, or Slime moulds. They were just stuff.
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
Yes. My 1TB disk is getting full and I couldn’t be bothered. The only exceptions are genera where the rare taxa, I am looking for, look very similar to the common ones.
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
Definitely no. I take photos of geologial formations, erosion patterns, rare cars, trains and aeroplanes, old buildings, landscapes and steetscapes as well and living organisms. Any view I find interesting - except people I don’t know, for the obvious reasons.
I do stick to niches and geographical areas when identifying though.
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
I sure do keep an eye out as long as I don’t need a microscope or an underwater camera.
Observations are either a hunt, documenting a place or capturing an elusive moment.
My partner and I like to find new places and revisit at a different season. First time it is about getting an understanding of the place. While she looks for birds and orchids I usually take photos of dominant taxa (and birds and orchids and grasses and mosses and trees and shrubs…). We both like landscapes. Revisiting leaves more time to hunt for rare observations and photos that capture the feel or essence better, or just cover a bigger area because I was taking photos of everything the first time.
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?
pply
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
Yes, cause I always think, data storage also costs a lot and nobody needs the 100000000000000 observation of a species which the distribution is already well known and thats not endangered etc (f.e. Hypnum cupressiforme in Germany)
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
yes:) bryophytes
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
yes :)
Also one thing that matters for me is the quality of an image :) If I get only bad images of a species I would like to upload I try to get better images first.
Are you more likely to observe an organism if it’s been identified or gotten other engagement in the past?*
Nope, I have hundreds of mushrooms photographs that are still sitting at “Agaricomycetes” cause they fascinate me but I’m very bad at fungi. I don’t even know if there is just no interested people on iNat in my area, or if my photos are bad, but I don’t care, as long as I enjoy photographying the organism and don’t rush it.
Will you pass up observations if a species is ‘common’? Both on iNat as a whole and your own personal observation count?
Nope, most of what I am identifying are common species anyway. I believe it is important to have them here to not “biais” too much the data here towards rare and showy stuff. Not showy and common things are really cool too !
I have as a rule to photograph each organism I see at least once when visiting new trails. When it is one of my regular paths, I photograph them ~ once a month, or when there is an interaction with another organism/ change in phenology.
Do you stick to taxonomical niches and only observe those? (i.e. Only observing birds)
Nope, but I must admit I tend to have preference towards coastal organisms, mollusks and plants. I will photograph them more, whereas I’m more likely to ignore a bird unless it is really easy to photograph or if I’m in the mood for an audio obs.
Do you look for new organisms after learning about their existence?
It is not necessary after learning their existence, but check the flora in a new area when I visit, and it tends to determine where I go hiking, but I won’t go off trail or stuff to find it if I’m not in my “home” area (where I’m familiar of where I can step off trail and when I can’t without damaging fragile stuff)
You have touched on an important point. iNaturalist is promoted, in part, as a means of getting assistance with identifying organisms. So, in answer to the OP:
One of the factors affecting what I observe is that I am more likely to observe something if I would like assistance in identifying it.
It is not helpful when people on the Forums try to promote the idea that we should accept it when our observations do not get identified; it comes across as saying that our reason for uploading them – in keeping with iNat’s stated goals – is wrongheaded. Telling us that RG doesn’t have to be the goal is not much better; if I have gone outside my regular areas of expertise and made use of identification materials to try to identify something unfamiliar, it sure does help to have that cross-check of a second ID to let me know whether I was on the right track or not. How can I learn if I get no engagement?
I am more likely to observe organisms in parts of the world that have gotten less attention.
As expressed by the current thread, An Idea To Promote Explosive Growth for INaturalist and its Data, there is an imbalance of activity between the Global North and the Global South. Because I have been privileged to travel, and have largely chosen to do so in the Global South, I find this to be an opportunity to observe organisms that are less often observed.
On a similar note, I am with @johnny-m about the gazillionth observation of a well-studied, non-endangered species. When planning to visit an area that has already been extensively iNatted, I look at the species tab for that place and make an “avoid” list of the top 5 or 10 most-observed in that location.
Finally, I do take an interest in certain families or genera and make efforts to look for those in particular.
Do I have a camera with me that can capture the image well?
That’s about it. Broadly speaking I take the photo for the sake of the photography side of things, although I do indeed use my phone to get quick snaps of various organism even if they aren’t ‘photo quality’.
Mostly I photograph things that interest me, things that are unusual, things in places I haven’t seen them before, things I don’t recognize etc., but I try to also remember to get a few of the more common things that tend to be ignored.
I definitely look for things that I learn about on iNat. Here’s an example which comes to mind immediately https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/124693865 and the observation that prompted me to start looking https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/57432435
A few projects have inspired me to look for specific types of things, and Wild Achievements prompted me to search through some of my photos and post a few things that I might not have bothered with or thought of otherwise https://wild-achievements.mywild.co.za/