Thomas Mesaglio
@thebeachcomber.bsky.social
iNaturalist addict, curator and iNat AU site administrator (http://inaturalist.org/people/thebeachcomber), professional BioBlitzer, PhD student at UNSW School of BEES
We extensively discuss why accuracy was so high, but key is that many experts have already spent years sharing their knowledge on iNat. It's clear: consistent expert engagement with citizen science, and the learning by citizen scientists that results, drives high quality biodiversity datasets.
March 17, 2025 at 4:42 AM
We extensively discuss why accuracy was so high, but key is that many experts have already spent years sharing their knowledge on iNat. It's clear: consistent expert engagement with citizen science, and the learning by citizen scientists that results, drives high quality biodiversity datasets.
What did we find? Almost 11,000 records were reviewed by at least one expert during the event. Of the 7,000+ records from our dataset that were identified to species or finer, 92% of them were correctly identified. And if only considering the ~3,500 Research Grade records, these were 97% accurate.
March 17, 2025 at 4:42 AM
What did we find? Almost 11,000 records were reviewed by at least one expert during the event. Of the 7,000+ records from our dataset that were identified to species or finer, 92% of them were correctly identified. And if only considering the ~3,500 Research Grade records, these were 97% accurate.
We recruited over 50 taxonomists, botanists and other experts with knowledge of the Western Australian flora, and gave them three weeks to assess the ID accuracy of thousands of iNat records from three regions in WA as part of an 'expert ID blitz'.
March 17, 2025 at 4:42 AM
We recruited over 50 taxonomists, botanists and other experts with knowledge of the Western Australian flora, and gave them three weeks to assess the ID accuracy of thousands of iNat records from three regions in WA as part of an 'expert ID blitz'.
Photographed one of my mega bucket list species on a recent trip to Kakadu NP, the amazing Leichhardt's Grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera). Found only across the Top End of the NT, this species is on the decline. I waited almost 5 years to see this grasshopper after failing to find one in March 2020
December 17, 2024 at 12:12 AM
Photographed one of my mega bucket list species on a recent trip to Kakadu NP, the amazing Leichhardt's Grasshopper (Petasida ephippigera). Found only across the Top End of the NT, this species is on the decline. I waited almost 5 years to see this grasshopper after failing to find one in March 2020
Second, the most complete picture of the plant biodiversity from each park relied on combining all three data streams: each had unique species that the other two didn't. Excitingly, @inaturalist.bsky.social records contributed 63 new species for Royal, and 20 for Yosemite
December 2, 2024 at 1:36 AM
Second, the most complete picture of the plant biodiversity from each park relied on combining all three data streams: each had unique species that the other two didn't. Excitingly, @inaturalist.bsky.social records contributed 63 new species for Royal, and 20 for Yosemite
And what about Yosemite? It reached 1,632 species, including 1,409 natives, in an area of 300,000 ha.
December 2, 2024 at 1:36 AM
And what about Yosemite? It reached 1,632 species, including 1,409 natives, in an area of 300,000 ha.
How many vascular plant species do you think are in Royal NP? We compiled a total of 1,414 species! This includes 1,146 natives, more than the entire British Isles in an area of just 15,000 ha.
December 2, 2024 at 1:36 AM
How many vascular plant species do you think are in Royal NP? We compiled a total of 1,414 species! This includes 1,146 natives, more than the entire British Isles in an area of just 15,000 ha.
New paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
We compiled master plant species lists for 2 of the 5 oldest national parks: Royal (Australia) and Yosemite (USA) by combining herbarium vouchers + @inaturalist.bsky.social records + official expert park lists, extensively manually curating all records.
We compiled master plant species lists for 2 of the 5 oldest national parks: Royal (Australia) and Yosemite (USA) by combining herbarium vouchers + @inaturalist.bsky.social records + official expert park lists, extensively manually curating all records.
December 2, 2024 at 1:36 AM
New paper: doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...
We compiled master plant species lists for 2 of the 5 oldest national parks: Royal (Australia) and Yosemite (USA) by combining herbarium vouchers + @inaturalist.bsky.social records + official expert park lists, extensively manually curating all records.
We compiled master plant species lists for 2 of the 5 oldest national parks: Royal (Australia) and Yosemite (USA) by combining herbarium vouchers + @inaturalist.bsky.social records + official expert park lists, extensively manually curating all records.
Cracked the 300,000 mark for IDs on iNaturalist
December 16, 2023 at 7:33 AM
Cracked the 300,000 mark for IDs on iNaturalist