App helps researchers track invasive species and rediscover lost wildlife

LEE COUNTY, Fla. —

Nowadays, there is an app for just about everything.

For anyone who has ever found themselves outside, looking at a plant or animal and wondering what it is, iNaturalist can help.

The app allows users to upload photos of plants, animals and other living things. Those observations can then be reviewed, verified and used by scientists around the world.

Mercedes Roesler first downloaded iNaturalist for a class.

“I didn’t think much about it until I realized the strength behind that tool and what it could be used for,” Roesler said.

She said the app helps people better understand the wildlife around them.

“I think there is a lot of value to not only seeing wildlife, but knowing what it is,” Roesler said. “That way you can learn more about it, understand it and care about it. That can even help with conservation.”

Assistant professor Christina Anaya said iNaturalist has also become a valuable tool for researchers.

“You get a lot of information from one photo,” Anaya said. “Not only do you get a picture, but you get a timestamp, and you get location data. That in itself could be very valuable, not only for citizen scientists, but for researchers.”

Anaya, who studies parasites, said the app has helped her track how invasive species may spread parasites to native wildlife.

“As pythons are moving further north, cane toads are moving even further north,” Anaya said. “They are taking their parasites with them and potentially passing them off to our native species.”

Scott Laurie, executive director of iNaturalist, said the app is powered by people simply getting outside and exploring.

“It’s just amazing. It’s all generated by people going outside, being curious and exploring their backyards,” Laurie said.

Laurie said iNaturalist can also help with the early detection of invasive species, including Burmese pythons in Florida.

But the app has also been credited with something even more exciting: helping document new species and rediscover species once thought to be extinct.

“They were thought to be extinct, and someone will take a picture of something and realize this hasn’t been seen for 150 years,” Laurie said. “It’s the only living photo of it, and those rediscoveries are really interesting.”

Laurie said one example involved a student on a class trip near Quito, Ecuador, who took a photo of a butterfly that turned out to be a completely new species.

That means almost anyone with a phone could become a citizen scientist and help document the natural world.

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