https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=124824&taxon_id=48039&view=species

Contribute your nature observations while strolling through Bendigo and its surrounds on any or all of the four days in October.
Apologies for cross posts

Regards
Project administrator: aldopenbrook (Bendigo)

To find out more information about this event, check out Great Southern Bioblitz
To explore all the other amazing areas participating go to 'Great Southern Bioblitz Umbrella- 2021'
Follow on Twitter, Facebook (@GSBioblitz) and Instagram (gsbioblitz)

GSBioblitz - on Facebook
GSBioblitz - on Twitter
GSBioblitz - on Instagram
Great Southern Bioblitz 2021 Umbrella
Previous events:
Great Southern Bioblitz 2020 Umbrella
Check out this summary blog about the 2020 Great Southern Bioblitz 'Great Southern Bioblitz - Amazing First Year!' by Pete Crowcroft (AKA @possumpete )

@spacegecko
@jeff_melvaine
@melwood
@angem
@aldopenbrook
@geelong-nature-nerd
@grace_sibley
@michael1922
@crimsonwookiee
@garry34
@talus1972
@russellbest
@martinlagerwey
@abaddon
@jansutton
@russell115
@thunder-child
@reiner
@torhek
@wanderingandwilderness
@slsfirefight
@andill
@andrew_allen
@boykett
@edted
@sanguinedragonflye
@blaise_o
@ernewton
@kenharris
@nickstando
@kb_3550
@lachieforbes
@tayloab
@dangernoodlec137
@mickramsey
@kerriej
@melissa-morrison
@nicolekearney
@al1
@jasonmcc
@parksvictoria
@raggedeagle
@rbshe
@elusiveorchids
@jdagg
@lurlzz
@rogstanden
@chrisclarke25
@indrabone
@jarrad1
@jdcamilleri82
@jmpriest5
@joy20
@kg140
@lenkaschirmer
@marie_bonne
@noseymosey
@psycore
@stemstemmer
@andyfrank
@aspacelobster
@aussiecreature
@blaise_o_leary
@claedo
@isabella150
@johnlenagan
@nomesdoak
@ohlincha
@owenlishmund
@philippe314
@rebekaaah
@rubyredtuesday
@alanam
@blai
@carly1988
@dancg
@deluxe
@elainewilliams
@georectified
@homegrown3556
@jessicaloulawrence
@jessie208
@johnireland
@marsusram
@raimiller97
@saprosbro
@tleitch
@acwright
@adamaus
@amba
@andrewacton
@ashplantwitch
@aussiebleeder
@beau_meister
@benanna
@calamanthus
@carranya
@catloverdovey
@chrislindorff
@christophercaine
@cveld
@danielashdown
@duke_n
@eamw
@eileen64
@elisabethshapiro
@graemelunt
@johnboy
@jtee
@kathrynstan
@manderson80
@marika454
@mason87
@mattronsh
@nicole07070707
@regnans
@scootacamerons
@stanley8m
@warramaba
@abirm
@adindris
@alisonwatson
@ambikab
@andrew1434
@anita379
@annz_
@arthur296
@awiddis
@ayesha
@billelder
@bio327
@birdie-buddy
@brandle
@brendonwhitmore
@brigid13
@bunyip
@cap1
@cassie163
@cathal1
@chandes
@clarkey
@cmnoel
@craig66
@david-francis44
@dfraser85
@eliap
@emma1115
@ethan_lee
@fatdentist

Great Southern BioBlitz 2021 - Ironbark Gully Bendigo

October 22-25th 2021

Contribute your nature observations to the BioBlitz while strolling through Bendigo on any or all of the four days in October.
Apologies for any cross postings
Regards
Project administrator: @aldopenbrook (Bendigo)

To find out more information about this event, check out Great Southern Bioblitz
To explore all the other amazing areas participating go to 'Great Southern Bioblitz Umbrella- 2021'
Follow on Twitter, Facebook (@GSBioblitz) and Instagram (gsbioblitz)

GSBioblitz - on Facebook
GSBioblitz - on Twitter
GSBioblitz - on Instagram
Great Southern Bioblitz 2021 Umbrella
Previous events:
Great Southern Bioblitz 2020 Umbrella
Check out this summary blog about the 2020 Great Southern Bioblitz 'Great Southern Bioblitz - Amazing First Year!' by Pete Crowcroft (AKA @possumpete )

@spacegecko
@jeff_melvaine
@melwood
@angem
@aldopenbrook
@geelong-nature-nerd
@grace_sibley
@michael1922
@crimsonwookiee
@garry34
@talus1972
@russellbest
@martinlagerwey
@abaddon
@jansutton
@russell115
@thunder-child
@reiner
@torhek
@wanderingandwilderness
@slsfirefight
@andill
@andrew_allen
@boykett
@edted
@sanguinedragonflye
@blaise_o
@ernewton
@kenharris
@nickstando
@kb_3550
@ lachieforbes
@tayloab
@dangernoodlec137
@mickramsey
@kerriej
@melissa-morrison
@nicolekearney
@al1
@jasonmcc
@parksvictoria
@raggedeagle
@rbshe
@elusiveorchids
@jdagg
@lurlzz
@rogstanden
@chrisclarke25
@indrabone
@jarrad1
@jdcamilleri82
@jmpriest5
@joy20
@kg140
@lenkaschirmer
@marie_bonne
@noseymosey
@psycore
@stemstemmer
@andyfrank
@aspacelobster
@aussiecreature
@blaise_o_leary
@claedo
@isabella150
@johnlenagan
@nomesdoak
@ohlincha
@owenlishmund
@philippe314
@rebekaaah
@rubyredtuesday
@alanam
@blai
@carly1988
@dancg
@deluxe
@elainewilliams
@georectified
@homegrown3556
@jessicaloulawrence
@jessie208
@johnireland
@marsusram
@raimiller97
@saprosbro
@tleitch
@acwright
@adamaus
@amba
@andrewacton
@ashplantwitch
@aussiebleeder
@beau_meister
@benanna
@calamanthus
@carranya
@catloverdovey
@chrislindorff
@christophercaine
@cveld
@danielashdown
@duke_n
@eamw
@eileen64
@elisabethshapiro
@graemelunt
@johnboy
@jtee
@kathrynstan
@manderson80
@marika454
@mason87
@mattronsh
@nicole07070707
@regnans
@scootacamerons
@stanley8m
@warramaba
@abirm
@adindris
@alisonwatson
@ambikab
@andrew1434
@anita379
@annz_
@arthur296
@awiddis
@ayesha
@billelder
@bio327
@birdie-buddy
@brandle
@brendonwhitmore
@brigid13
@bunyip
@cap1
@cassie163
@cathal1
@chandes
@clarkey
@cmnoel
@craig66
@david-francis44
@dfraser85
@eliap
@emma1115
@ethan_lee
@fatdentist

@aldopenbrook

金瑞治水園區是一座利用天然地形築堤形成的「滯洪池」，因地理位置緊鄰周圍的山系及溪流，常年有源源不絕的活水注入，生態資源豐沛，尤以蜻蛉類種類眾多，幾已達全台灣紀錄種的1/3，是台北市第一座蜻蜓主題公園。

然而，生態環境良好的金瑞治水園區，近年來也難逃遭「綠癌-小花蔓澤蘭」入侵。生長快速、繁殖及擴散能力極強的小花蔓澤蘭僅以器械移除的效果並不好，根據林務局的資料，小花蔓澤蘭防治目前以人工拔除為主，每年自8月開始進行第一次拔蔓作業、10月間進行第二次，除可大量減少小花蔓澤蘭的生物量、預防開花結實外，也可清除殘根避免隔年再萌發，達到防治的效果。

邀請您捲起衣袖一起來移除小花蔓澤蘭，為動植物及我們自身美好的生存環境而揮灑汗水吧!

＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿

💦主辦單位｜
臺北市政府工務局水利工程處

👫協辦單位｜
台北市內湖社區大學、台北市蝙蝠保育學會

👨‍🔧適合對象｜
國中以上，對環境有熱忱有責任感者
(可申請國、高中服務時數、環教時數、志工服務時數)

💪 招募人數｜
每梯次上限50人

📅 活動時間｜
第一梯 110/9/25(六) 09:00-16:30
第二梯 110/9/26(日) 09:00-16:30

💰 課程費用｜
活動完全免費
參加費用由水利處全額支付

報名網址：
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeEzsMAQyUb-9z82J7SzXricok5744-GRWRV2MfXsIYUJlYwA/viewform

The mantas were amazing, and the corals were awesome.

Thursday 9:20 -11:13 am: no newts.
Weather - cold, for a change. Air quality is also good.
Other roadkills: a small spider wasp.
I didn't hear or see any chipmunks this time. Maybe it was too cold. I spent some time looking for oak galls on scrub oaks, and found some interesting ones. Also, when I got back to the parking lot I heard two crows making a lot of noise. They were chasing a golden eagle, that then landed on a tall eucalyptus on the hill in front of me. A few minutes later it took off, and the crows followed.
Coverage: from the parking lot to the second stop sign.
Traffic: 7 trucks, 28 cars, 4 bikes, 17 pedestrians, and 19 cars parked by the road and in the parking lots (1 car at the far lot). It was very quiet again, a few trucks, cars, etc.
A link to all my observations of the day - https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2021-09-16&place_id=any&user_id=merav&verifiable=any

(writing in progress)

What do you call animal species living mainly among humans but not kept captive?

Commensal, naturally.

What do you call species which have been selectively bred by humans? Domestic, of course.

What do you call populations of domestic species which live wild? Feral, surely.

But what do you call breeds within domestic species which look like wild animals, are no longer selectively bred, and serve humans part-time and voluntarily?

There has been no word for this, so how about 'domensal' (domestic/commensal)?

The Maasai 'breed' of the donkey (Equus asinus), which inhabits East African pastoral areas from Somalia across Kenya to Tanzania, conforms to this description; hence the appeal, to naturalists, of a quasi-wild animal. And, given that no wild ancestor survives (at least in pure form), the Maasai donkey is as close as we can get today to a lost member of the original fauna.

Pastoralists such as the Maasai have allowed the donkey to revert to a semi-feral state, while retaining intimate cohabitation. And the Maasai donkey returns to its anthropogenic burdens seasonally, with minimal coercion (see https://discover.hubpages.com/animals/The-Donkey-Meetings-of-Ole-Tepesi).

The Maasai donkey is not herded back to the corrals in the evenings, as are the domestic bost (Bos taurus/indicus), the domestic sheep (Ovis aries) and the domestic goat (Capra hircus) of the Maasai. Instead, it returns of its own accord, behaving in this sense like a commensal rather than a domestic animal.

Nor is the Maasai donkey exploited by the pastoralists for food (either flesh or milk). Its sole value is for transportation and then mainly on a seasonal basis, and it may or may not be individually 'owned' (branded) depending on which group of pastoralists is involved.

As far as I know, the pastoralists make little attempt to control the reproduction of the donkey; so there is negligible selective breeding despite considerable 'natural' selection.

Although it could be argued that the donkey remains permanently shaped by a previous history of selective breeding, what seems significant is that this population has remarkably consistent colouration, conforming to a wild pattern and lacking the irregular and asymmetrical features so obvious in the bost, sheep and goat kept by the same pastoralists. The Maasai donkey differs from its putative wild ancestors mainly in the reduced sizes of its body (adult average about 100 kg) and presumably brain. We do not know whether the wild-type colouration has been directly retained from the ancestral species, reverted to, or attained by recent hybridisation with the Somali wild ass (Equus africanus somaliensis).

https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/item/83623359-two-donkeys-eating-red-sandy-soil-food-arid-african-desert

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-maasai-herdsman-herding-donkeys-equus-asinus-in-tanzania-east-africa-26343630.html

https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-datoga-man-herding-donkeys-lake-eyasi-northern-tanzania-175256082.html

https://www.osiligilaimaasailodge.co.tz/activities/view/donkey-ride-with-the-maasai

https://i1.wp.com/borderjumpers.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/serengeti-11.jpg

https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/young-maasai-woman-with-donkeys-in-village-gm525772713-52928944

https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-oldonyo-masai-village-donkeys-tanzania-image75190971

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaygalvin/48878024206/in/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jaygalvin/48878218297/in/photostream/

We’re now past the half way mark of the September Biodiversity Blitz and the observation count is climbing. Our 170 ‘blitzers’ have logged 6,400+ observations and over 1,000 species. What an effort! With school holidays about to begin we hope to see more observers sign up to the blitz.

It has been a nail-biting week when it comes to the species count on the challenge leaderboard - https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/biodiversity-blitz-2021-melbourne - with Yarra Ranges and Mornington jostling for first position. Typically, less than 10 species separate us from Mornington.

When it comes to Yarra Ranges observations there has been a reordering of the flora in the top 10 compared to last week and some exciting newbies in our fauna list.

Top 10 flora:

1. Love Creeper
2. Prickly Moses
3. Tough Rice Flower
4. Australian Mountain Greenhood
5. Wonga Vine
6. Blackwood
7. Pultenaea gunnii (golden bush-pea)
8. Common Heath
9. Three-corned Garlic
10. Australian Clematis

Top 10 fauna

1. Australian Painted Lady (butterfly)
2. Crimson Rosella
3. Laughing Kookaburra
4. Magpie
5. Grey Fantail
6. Genus Chrysso (comb-footed spiders)
7. Pied Currawong
8. Western Honey Bee
9. Australian Wood Duck
10. Common Wombat

The Yarra Ranges Council Team

The Cabbage White Butterfly belongs to the rapae species, the pieris genus, and the Pieridae family.
Since it is a butterfly, it is classified in the Lepidoptera order, and the insecta class(all insects).
and all insects fall under the Arthropoda phylum and the Animalia kingdom.
the spices which include in the pieris genus, including the pieris rapae, generally have wing color close to white and very light green. This color can help in camouflaging with the color of flower while drinking nectar from the flower in order to avoid predation. Also, cabbage white butterfly larvae and caterpillar are green which is very useful to avoid predation from predators.
one adaptation that all of observations might have in common is probably their color, which helps them blend/camoflauge with their environment either to avoid predators or hide and wait for preys.
For example the Labyrinth Spider's body color is very similar to the color of rocks or dirt around its web.

Phylogeny

Using the OneZoom phylogenetic tree, I located Helophilus fasciatus (Narrow-headed Marsh Fly) in relation to its sister species (Helophilus hybridus and Helophilus hochstetteri) and their common ancestor(s). They are all part of the Helophilus genus of the Ersitalini tribe, a subset of the Sirphidae family of the Diptera order which falls under the clade of winged insects (derived from Insects, a group of arthropods belonging to Protostomes and therefore animals) (Schoch CL, et al., 2020).

Common adaptation: tracheal breathing system

All the species we observed were insects and they share a common physiological adaptation. Insect respiration has adapted to best meet the oxygen demands associated with insects' high metabolic rates (Moerbitz & Hetz, 2010). Their respiratory system is composed of tubes (tracheae) that conduct air directly from the spiracles (external vents) to their tissues (Powell, 2003).

Bumblebee unique adaptation:

The bumblebees’ venomous sting serves as a pain-inflicting defense mechanism. The venom, delivered through a specialized stinging apparatus is produced in structures that evolved from female accessory reproductive glands. This physiological adaptation allows bees to defend their colonies from large predators and is therefore thought to have played a role in the evolution of their eusocial behavior (communal living) (Van Vaerenbergh, 2013).

Bibliography

Canadian Wildlife Federation. (2020). Why Join iNaturalist.ca? Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFHM2HQwxo&t=129s.

Moerbitz, C., & Hetz, S. K. (2010). Tradeoffs between metabolic rate and spiracular conductance in discontinuous gas exchange of Samia Cynthia (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae). Journal of Insect Physiology, 56(5), 536–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.08.003

Powell, K. (2003). Bug breathing exposed. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/news030120-9

Schoch CL, et al. (2020). Taxonomy browser (helophilus). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=226173&lvl=0.

Team, O. Z. (n.d.). Onezoom Tree of life explorer, text page for Helophilus Altaicus. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.onezoom.org/life/@Helophilus_altaicus=4354527?img=best_any&anim=flight#x1006,y48,w1.4393.

Van Vaerenbergh, M. (2013). Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) and Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) Venom: Analysis and Immunological Importance of the Proteome. Ghent University. Retrieved September 16, 2021. https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/4194060/file/4336838

PhD thesis

1. Phylogeny

Using the OneZoom phylogenetic tree, I located Helophilus fasciatus (Narrow-headed Marsh Fly) in relation to its sister species (Helophilus hybridus and Helophilus hochstetteri) and their common ancestor(s). They are all part of the Helophilus genus of the Ersitalini tribe, a subset of the Sirphidae family of the Diptera order which falls under the clade of winged insects (derived from Insects, a group of arthropods belonging to Protostomes and therefore animals) (Schoch CL, et al., 2020).

1. Common adaptation: tracheal breathing system

All the species we observed were insects and they share a common physiological adaptation. Insect respiration has adapted to best meet the oxygen demands associated with insects' high metabolic rates (Moerbitz & Hetz, 2010). Their respiratory system is composed of tubes (tracheae) that conduct air directly from the spiracles (external vents) to their tissues (Powell, 2003).

1. Bumblebee unique adaptation: Venom

The bumblebees’ venomous sting serves as a pain-inflicting defense mechanism. The venom, delivered through a specialized stinging apparatus is produced in structures that evolved from female accessory reproductive glands. This physiological adaptation allows bees to defend their colonies from large predators and is therefore thought to have played a role in the evolution of their eusocial behavior (communal living) (Van Vaerenbergh, 2013).

Bibliography:
Canadian Wildlife Federation. (2020). Why Join iNaturalist.ca? Retrieved September 16, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rFHM2HQwxo&t=129s.

Moerbitz, C., & Hetz, S. K. (2010). Tradeoffs between metabolic rate and spiracular conductance in discontinuous gas exchange of Samia Cynthia (Lepidoptera, Saturniidae). Journal of Insect Physiology, 56(5), 536–542. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.08.003

Powell, K. (2003). Bug breathing exposed. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/news030120-9

Schoch CL, et al. (2020). Taxonomy browser (helophilus). National Center for Biotechnology Information. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=226173&lvl=0.

Team, O. Z. (n.d.). Onezoom Tree of life explorer, text page for Helophilus Altaicus. Retrieved September 17, 2021, from https://www.onezoom.org/life/@Helophilus_altaicus=4354527?img=best_any&anim=flight#x1006,y48,w1.4393.

Van Vaerenbergh, M. (2013). Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) and Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) Venom: Analysis and Immunological Importance of the Proteome. Ghent University. Retrieved September 16, 2021. https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/4194060/file/4336838

PhD thesis

The category of my observation for this experiment is leaves, and they are an essential component of all plants on earth. Leaves all have the same basic structure of midrib, an edge, veins, and a petiole, as well as the similar function of carrying out photosynthesis, which provides energy to plants converted from sunlight. The species that I find the most interesting out of all of my observations is the Rugosa Rose, and it is distinguished for its exceptionally large, bright red or orange-red fruits. Its leaves are dark green, wrinkly, and deeply veined leaflets that are toothed and oval-shaped. The phylogeny of this species can be traced back to the Genus Rosa branch of wild roses, which is widely distributed throughout temperate and sub-tropical habitats from the northern hemisphere to tropical Asia. Geographical analyses suggest that the mild weather and annual little fluctuation of temperature in Asia played a central role as a genetic reservoir in the evolution of the genus Rosa.

One of the significant features of spruce is their needle leaves. This is an adaptation for them to have a better fitness in the northern temperate and boreal climate in order to survive. Evergreen needle reducing the surface area prevents them from further water-loss by transpiration. By genetic analysis, genus Picea originated from North America.
Trees I observed share in common that they all have well-developed root system. This also helps them to gain more water and nutrients.

This is the number of species in each classification according to Inat's Stats for this project:

Insects - 31,708 species

Plants - 29,798 species

Fungi - 8,940 species

Other Animals - 4,817 species

Mollusks - 3,589 species

Arachnids - 2,326 species

Birds - 1,816 species

Reptiles - 914 species

Mammals - 842 species

Amphibians - 467 species

I found these insects and plants near a dirt road close to my home. They were kind of hard to see because they almost blended into their habitat but I thought they were interesting. I saw them on Tuesday, September 14th , 2021 on my way home from school. The habitat was dusty and there were lots of rocks and short stemmed plants, a perfect place for little insects and spiders to hide.

I chose to look at the phylogeny for the Eastern Hemlock or Tsuga canadensis. It is a species of Hemlock, is part of the family Pinaceae, is an Acrogymnosperm, and more generally a vascular seed plant. One adaptation that the European Raspberry( Rubus Idaeus) has is thorns on its stems. This adaptation helps to prevent herbivores from eating the plant. If the plant is not eaten, the plant can produce berries with seeds and can reproduce/spread faster. Since all of my observed plants are vascular plants, an adaptation they have in common is xylem and phloem cells. These help conduct water and solutes through the plant.

Top 5 Categorial species for Wyoming

Plants make up 48.63%

Insects make up 32.73%

Fungi make up 6.77%

Birds make up 5.74%

Arachnids make up 1.96%

These 5 categories make up just under 96% of all observations for Wyoming

Top 25 Species for Wyoming are as follows:

1. American Bison with 3,183 observations
2. Wapiti with 2,148 observations
3. Moose with 1,368 observations
4. Pronghorn with 1,316 observations
5. Mule Deer with 1,061 observations
6. American Black Bear with 952 observations
7. Brown Bear with 713 observations
8. Sticky Geranium with 700 observations
9. Coyote with 631 observations
10. Fireweed with 631 observations
11. Yellow-bellied Marmot
12. Common Raven
13. Silvery Lupine
14. Common Yarrow
15. Uinta Ground Squirrel
16. Big Sagebrush
17. Harebell
18. Lodgepole Pine
19. Arrowleaf Balsamroot
20. Bighorn Sheep
21. Mountain Bluebird
22. Bald Eagle
23. Monument Plant
24. Creeping Mahonia
25. Gray Wolf

Top 5 Categorial Species for Wisconsin

Insects make up 38.02%

Plants make up 37.15%

Fungi make up 13.92%

Birds make up 3.96%

Arachnids make up 2.49%

These 5 categories make up just over 95% of all observations for Wisconsin

Top 25 Species for Wisconsin are as follows:

1. Monarch with 2,518 observations
2. Common Milkweed with 2,403 observations
3. American Toad with 1,910 observations
4. White-tailed Deer with 1,908 observations
5. Jack-in-the-Pulpit with 1,759 observations
6. Wild Geranium with 1,743 observations
7. Wild Bergamot with 1,737 observations
8. Mallard with 1,661 observations
9. Bloodroot with 1,619 observations
10. Common Buckthorn with 1,584 observations
11. American Robin
12. Eastern Gray Squirrel
13. Garlic Mustard
14. Canada Goose
15. Sandhill Crane
16. Common Eastern Bumble Bee
17. Common Jewelweed
18. Eastern White Pine
19. Large White Trillium
20. Red Columbine
21. Mayapple
22. Great Mullein
23. Common Yarrow
24. Dame's Rocket
25. Wild Carrot

Honeysuckle plants are located in the eukaryote part of the phylogeny. More specifically, located in the flowering plants categorized under Dipsacales. All of my observations have one main adaptation in common, which is adapting to the cold weather. Whether they hold on to dead leaves for insulation, stop growing in the cold, or simply regrow each year, these plants have adapted to the cold weather to be able to rebloom every season. Hemlocks have unique ways of adapting to their environment. They are shade tolerant, and their seeds can germinate in organic material.

I believe I found Red Baneberries, which differ from all of my other observations because they are fruit, and my other observations are weed, leafy plants and flowers. In addition, these berries consist of fertilized seeds, plus the ovary wall, which my other observations do not have in common with the red baneberries.

The observations that I took are all plants that are low to the ground. These plants all take up essential nutrients from the soil through their roots and the air through their leaves. They also all share the same cell structures, such as the cell wall, chloroplast, and vacuoles.

I chose the flower chicory to observe on Onezoom and its phylogenic tree. The flower is part of the Cichorium Dubium species, part of Cichoriinae, a tribe in the plant family Asteraceae. This tribe falls under a larger group called, Cichorioideae, home to almost 40,000 species.

Hello Friends

It has been nearly two weeks since the Monsoon Beauty event ended. You must be wondering what happened and why communications have been slow. Apologies for this delay.

The 53 days Journey (from 15th July 2021 to 5th September 2021) can only be described with one word Amazing.

The diversity of the 34000 odd observations is second only to the interest and participation of over a 1000 people (observers and identifiers combined). While it was an event located within the geographic boundaries of India we had friends joining in from all parts of the world. They added richness and expert education.

Some participants have communicated how much they have learned and how much more deeply engaged they have become with the natural world around them. Others have mentioned their positive interactions with other observers and with the so many great identifiers.

At the outset of the programme we had hoped for participation from 10 States or Territories (out of 36). However happily we received observations from 26 States or Union Territories. In some 10 regions we simply could not get people to join, this is a task for the next time.

We have had many new users join in and a significantly large proportion of women (26).

At the start of the event some people had questioned the “Gamefication” of the event through the incentive of awards. This was a risk, and truthfully we have had to deal with some concerns. A minority participated not to learn or contribute but to compete aggressively and their appreciation of nature and the community was secondary to self. They did not even attempt to engage with the community. Some users were indiscriminate and used bad processes in identification, while some observers got hyper competitive and may even have used unfair means to post many observations. In these cases we as event organizers have had to step in and attempt to address these concerns, sometimes we also got help from the iNaturalist Curator / Admin / Help group. For us as event organizers it is a learning we will take forward and incorporate in future events.

Over the next few days we will share some of the interesting outputs from the event, we will look into different taxonomic groups, special records. We will also try and profile some of the people. There have been quite a number of new records for either the country, or individual states, in some cases these observations are a 1st for the world as well. Rare organisms have been documented for the first time in the public domain or have been seen after intervals of over a 100 years.

Below is the list of awards. The awards are based not only on numbers but there has been an attempt to factor in some qualitative parameters as well. Below we have used the inaturalist user names for the participants.

We request all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd places in all of the categories to Direct Message their postal address to us or to send us an email on indiasnature01@gmail.com

We also request them to look at the Event page for the award guidelines and send in their selections as per the category

1 Category One - For Most Overall Observations

1. First Place - @babloo_farswan with 4116 Observation (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Second Place - @vivek_nature with 3131 Observations - (Using multiple DSLR cameras and smartphone)
3. Third Place Joint - @navaneethsinigeorge with 1649 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)
4. Third Place Joint - @hive with 1346 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)

@babloo_farswan is a very new user and worked very hard to not just document but also look at a diverse range of organisms some of which are first records for the State of Uttarakhand and a few of which are 1st records for India.

At the start of the programme @navaneethsinigeorge and @hive were very prolific and led the way for the rest of us. @hive, in particular, posted some fantastic and beautiful observations.

2 Category Two - Most Observations by a Rural Observer

1. First Place - @rajkoranga with 2888 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Second Place - @kapil_chand with 789 Observations ((Using only a mobile smartphone)
3. Third Place - @negi with 675 Observations (Bridge Camera and Mobile Phone)

@rajkoranga is also a fairly new user of iNaturalist. Using a mobile phone he too has documented an amazing array of high altitude flora and fauna. Some Butterfly observations posted by him are first records for the state since the British Collection Era, seen after an interval of over a 100 years.

3 Category Three -Most Observations in any one of the following states or Union Territories

(Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Tripura, Mizoram, Chandigarh, Nagaland, Manipur, Punjab)

The minimum Threshold was 150 observations. In only one of these States or Union Territories was there a maximum of only 7 observations posted. Hence this category of award is being scrapped and reallocated to Joint Awards in other Categories

4 Category Four - Most Observations by a New Observer

Most Observations by a new user who Joined after 1st July 2021 and / or has less than 200 observations at the start of the programme

1. Joint First Place - @k_pawan with 1777 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
2. Joint First Place - @ti_eramal with 639 Observations - (Using only a mobile smartphone)
3. Second Place - @swapnendu_nayak with 789 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)
4. Third Place - @nomadash with 476 Observations (Using only a mobile smartphone)

This is the most exciting category. New users who learned during the event and have been capturing and sharing an astounding diversity. @ti_eramal has shared vulnerable frogs and records of interesting plants and flowers.

5 Category Five - Most Identifications

Identifiers are the engine that run iNaturalist Events, without them we would neither be encouraged nor would be learn. During the course of the event 925 people have shared their valuable time and helped us identify many of our 34000 odd observations. We request every one to write to (Direct Message) identifiers and thank them specially for their hard work and effort.

1. First Place - @muddytortoise with1269 observations.
2. Second Place - @haneesh with 889 identifications.
3. Third Place (Joint) - @borisb with 862 identifications.
4. Third Place (Joint) - @anubhav-agarwal with 851 identifications.

6 Category Six - Jury’s Award - New Women Observers

This award is being presented to new women users. One of the focus areas of this event was to encourage women observers and hopefully we are at the start of a longer and more supportive series of events and processes.

1. First Place - @varsh1 with 572 observations
2. Second Place - @saumya_singh with 337 observations.
3. Third Place - @surabhi_srivastava_gaur with 309 observations.

We are happy to report that there are a fair number of new users. Also at last count there are atleast 26 women participants which is almost 3 times the iNaturalist India average.

7 Special Mention

Some participants were kind enough to share their observations for posting on Social Media. These are their observations

Hispa Beetle - Chosen as the iNaturalist Observsation of the day. Observer @saumya_singh
Green Fruit-piercing Moth - observer @ti_eramal
Common Birdwing Butterfly - observer @rajabandi
Pepper Plant - observer @rajabandi
Volucella Drone Flies & Kin - observer @babloo_farswan
Grasshopper - observer @babloo_farswan
Gaudy Grasshopper - Poekilocerus pictus - observer @jungli92
Typical Orbweaver Spider - observer @kapil_chand
Common Swallowtail Caterpillar - observer @kashif_ali
Common Redeye Butterfly - observer @navaneethsinigeorge
Giant Firefly - observer @krishna31
Thyas juno Moth - observer @aibor
The Vulnerable Indian Star Tortoise - observer @paulmathi
An endangered Tiger seen on or around International Tiger Day - observer @mirza8

8 Tables

8.1 Table 1 - Observers

A total of 103 people poster observations during the course of the project.
This table provides information about the observer, when they joined iNaturalist, and how many observations they had at the start of the programme.
Of the 103 participants 42 qualify (with 150 or more observations) for a Certificate of Participation. This would be sent to them soon.

This data is as on 5th September 2021 at 11:59 PM (23:59) IST

Rank	User	Observations	Category 1 Overall	Category 2 Rural	Category 4 New User	Category 6 Jury’s Award (New Women)	Date of Joining Inat	Observations before 15th July 2021
1	@babloo_farswan	4116	1st				28/Apr/21	182
2	@vivek_nature	3131	2nd				15/Sep/20	832
3	@rajkoranga	2888		1st			24/Dec/20	40
4	@k_pawan	1777			1st Jt		28/Feb/21	111
5	@navaneethsinigeorge	1649	3rd jt				25/Jul/20	4238
6	@hive	1321	3rd jt				18/Jul/19	2141
7	@rajabandi	1257					29/Oct/19	2512
8	@subbu107	1209					13/Jun/16	5373
9	@elavarasan_mm	1177					26/Apr/20	5266
10	@ram_k	1025					06/Jun/20	1844
11	@naeempamparambil	891					07/Sep/20	1142
12	@kapil_chand	789		2nd			11/Mar/21	1311
13	@negi	675		3rd			09/Jun/20	2920
14	@odonut	675					24/May/20	1092
15	@ti_eramal	639			1st Jt		18/Jul/21	1
16	@varsh1	572				1st	12/Jul/21	30
17	@vivekbgirija	541					10/Aug/20	1630
18	@swapnendu_nayak	531			2nd		26/Jul/21	0
19	@unnikrishnan_mp	514					09/Feb/19	856
20	@paulmathi	490					03/Apr/20	1946
21	@nomadash	476			3rd		05/Jun/20	51
22	@naturalist_aditya	386					04/Aug/20	1722
23	@jaya_rakesh	369					11/Dec/16	876
24	@balakrishnan07	343					12/Jan/20	762
25	@vijay_dixit	337					07/Jun/20	4277
26	@saumya_singh	337				2nd	16/Feb/21	28
27	@surabhi_srivastava_gaur	309				3rd	04/Oct/19	93
28	@aadyathammaiah	282					19/Jan/21	13
29	@nageshwaran_nageshwaran	270					03/Jul/21	29
30	@anubhav-agarwal	270					20/Sep/19	6348
31	@csbandi	257					01/Dec/19	1609
32	@subhalaxmi_muduli	246					05/Apr/21	42
33	@aibor	237					15/May/21	257
34	@swatiudayraj	208					25/Sep/19	1131
35	@azhagu	193					30/Sep/19	271
36	@hrishialpha	191					28/Apr/21	146
37	@swanand	186					23/Oct/17	3802
38	@kartiksundar	183					04/Mar/18	509
39	@ygurjar	180					22/Feb/15	17540
40	@virenvaz	174					02/Jul/21	11
41	@swati_sagarika_dakua	156					31/Jul/21	0
42	@kamleshatwal	156					10/Sep/20	1981
43	@ramanarayanan	141					04/Feb/20	613
44	@arvintrix	132					13/Jul/21	1
45	@krishna31	122					31/Aug/20	299
46	@r_priya	103					24/Aug/21	0
47	@himanshupandav	99					06/Dec/18	509
48	@chayantgonsalves	84					18/Jul/20	1079
49	@firos_ak	77					01/Oct/16	4319
50	@sagarika_chen	76					17/Apr/19	874
51	@prabhas	69					19/Jun/21	2
52	@paran_amitava	61					14/Apr/21	2
53	@jungli92	55					22/Jan/21	1
54	@mann97	55					04/Sep/20	66
55	@sangavi	55					17/Jun/20	465
56	@teratornis	52					31/Oct/19	616
57	@prakash_chand	52					29/Apr/21	490
58	@hari_mt	51					01/Jul/21	34
59	@svabhukohli	46					13/Mar/20	28
60	@umesh_rana	45					12/Jul/21	0
61	@shyamphartyal	43					27/Dec/17	369
62	@kashif_ali	43					11/May/21	92
63	@ashitha	43					08/Sep/20	407
64	@punurip	42					19/Jul/21	12
65	@bhupinder_singh_nagi	42					01/Jul/21	2
66	@kamal_bisht	42					09/Jun/20	665
67	@sarita_nayak	41					26/Jul/21	4
68	@mrigank_shekhar	40					16/Jun/21	34
69	@harish9	40					11/Jun/20	346
70	@reetu_farswan	37					16/Jul/21	1
71	@sanjaybisht	34					12/Jun/20	626
72	@sakshis	30					18/Jul/20	194
73	@madhukar_adepu	30					14/Jul/21	0
74	@puneet4	29					23/Mar/20	168
75	@nishie	28					12/Jul/21	0
76	@tarun_titgaien	28					26/Sep/20	722
77	@tanuja5	24					12/Jul/21	1
78	@triloksinghrana	22					29/Jun/20	40
79	@devika_mb	21					27/Jul/20	329
80	@megha_lifeofferings	19					10/Jul/21	2
81	@chithams1	19					06/Mar/21	39
82	@monicapillai	16					27/Jul/21	0
83	@lovejeet01	16					01/Apr/21	403
84	@savitri_joshi	16					07/Mar/21	387
85	@hopeland	16					09/Jul/16	4957
86	@rashubh	13					18/Jul/21	11
87	@garima11	8					05/Sep/21	0
88	@muddytortoise	8					29/Jul/19	235
89	@animal_hobby	7					27/Mar/19	214
90	@finding_nimo_	6					21/Aug/21	14
91	@scientific_alan	6					26/Nov/20	74
92	@bacchidangwal	6					10/Jun/20	286
93	@pratheek	6					12/May/18	37
94	@ryan_satish	5					07/May/21	12
95	@rohit_nandakumar	4					26/Jan/21	49
96	@mirza8	4					12/Jul/21	0
97	@aastha1	3					13/Jul/21	0
98	@deepak_aggarwal	3					31/May/21	5
99	@vishalkumarprasad	3					10/Sep/20	1
100	@parveez	2					02/Aug/21	7
101	@kelly_india	2					15/Jul/21	0
102	@emforests	2					26/Jan/21	5
103	@mountainjen	1					08/Jun/20	0

8.2 Table 2- Top 20 Identifiers

Twenty people who identified 300 or more observations are being awarded a Certificate of Appreciation for their efforts in helping the observers with species / genus or family identifications. Only our limited resources prevent us from honouring the identifiers in greater depth.

Rank	Identifiers Name	Identifications	Rank
1	@muddytortoise	1269	1st
2	@ram_k	975	**
3	@haneesh	889	2nd
4	@borisb	862	3rd Jt
5	@anubhav-agarwal	851	3rd Jt
6	@amila_sumanapala	778
7	@odonut	755
8	@hrishialpha	703
9	@subirshakya	665
10	@zebs	639
11	@elavarasan_mm	619
12	@azhagu	616
13	@pierotoni10	594
14	@abhijatshakya	544
15	@firos_ak	493
16	@unnikrishnan_mp	482
17	@pihlaviita	452
18	@naturalist_aditya	340
19	@nagabhushanjyothi	329

ram_K as an organizer of the event is not eligible for any award

8.3 Table 3 - Observations & Observers by States or Union Territory

Rank	State or Union Territory	Observations in the Event	Observers	Observations as on 1st June 2021
1	Uttarakhand	12722	34	41975
2	Kerala	4475	9	86583
3	Tamil Nadu	3294	14	50332
4	Chhattisgarh	3131	1	25793
5	Karnataka	2270	14	79151
6	Odisha	1821	8	7842
7	Maharashtra	1381	11	106099
8	Andhra Pradesh	1190	2	16930
9	Telangana	1127	5	7337
10	Meghalaya	892	2	6787
11	Himachal Pradesh	830	2	7818
12	Madhya Pradesh	377	2	9997
13	Uttar Pradesh	308	4	6548
14	Jharkhand	214	1	2600
15	Bihar	210	2	1753
16	Goa	113	4	9763
17	Gujarat	57	2	21842
18	Assam	56	2	52684
19	Sikkim	44	1	3109
20	West Bengal	14	2	37362
21	Manipur	7	1	1242
22	Haryana	4	1	4264
23	Punjab	2	1	1322
24	Chandigarh	2	1	445
25	Rajasthan	1	1	13737
26	Delhi	1	1	4920
27	Arunachal Pradesh	0	0	10441
28	Jammu and Kashmir	0	0	3920
29	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	0	0	2659
30	Puducherry	0	0	2255
31	Ladakh	0	0	1992
32	Nagaland	0	0	908
33	Mizoram	0	0	444
34	Tripura	0	0	442
35	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	0	0	356
36	Lakshadweep	0	0	260
		26

---

Do send in your comments, and queries either via direct message to @ram_k or post it in the comments below.

Results for the second week of the Spring BioBlitz Series below. Each series continues this Friday, Saturday and Sunday with the following events:

After School BioBlitz Series - 21AS3 Event - Friday 17th September, 3pm - 11pm. What can you discover on a Friday afternoon and evening.
Micro BioBlitz Series - 21M3 Event - Saturday 18th Sept, 11am - 12pm. Again, you've got 60min to discover as much as you can.
Fathom BioBlitz Series - Tosia Event - Sunday 19th Sept. The first of the Fathom Series. Head to the beach to record as many marine species as you can.

First in the Soaring BioBlitz Series this Spring, the Rhipidura Event brought in 12 observations covering 11 species from 5 observers. The weather put quite a damper on the day. Top 10 observed species below.

Second in this Micro Bioblitz Series this Spring, the 21M2 Event (10am - 11am) Event brought in a total 107 observations covering 75 species from 15 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

Second in the After School Series this Spring, the 21AS2 Event brought in a total 98 observations covering 82 species from 26 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

Second in the After School Series this Spring, the 21AS1 Event brought in a total 98 observations covering 82 species from 26 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

Second in the After School Series this Spring, the 21AS2 Event brought in a total 98 observations covering 82 species from 26 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

Second in this Micro Bioblitz Series this Spring, the 21M2 Event (10am - 11am) Event brought in a total 107 observations covering 75 species from 15 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

Second in this Micro Bioblitz Series this Spring, the 21M2 Event (10am - 11am) Event brought in a total 107 observations covering 75 species from 15 observers. The top 10 observed species are shown below.

First in the Soaring BioBlitz Series this Spring, the Rhipidura Event brought in 12 observations covering 11 species from 5 observers. The weather put quite a damper on the day. Top 10 observed species below.