South Australian iNaturalists's Journal

This February saw 6,569 observations covering 1,637 species from a total of 457 observers. There were 66 species receiving their first iNat record in SA. This month there were 68 new observers contributing their first observations in SA. Upon this months observations, 542 identifiers contributed a total of 11,529 identifications.


February, being one of the hottest months, tends to produce fewer observations than any other month, except perhaps June. Local participation in iNaturalist is up 10.1% on February 2021, however observations are down 4.7% and species observed in the month down 4.2%. As the purpose of iNaturalist to is to encourage citizens to engage with nature, this aim is still being successfully fulfilled. 457 people in SA took the time this month to step outside and record something of interest.


Uploads for SA at the end of January stand at 298,457 observations of 8,703 species from 4,225 observers with, as of today, 4,780 identifiers providing 543,265 identifications. (We'll probably hit 300k observations by the time I post this!)


It's almost time for the City Nature Challenge again. Running 29th April through 2nd May. The City Nature Challenge: Greater Adelaide project is up and running. Join the project to show your support. If you're new to the CNC, see the extended introduction.


Featured Observations from February
Some great close ups of a Fairy Shrimp by @andamooka.
A Whitefly with a local name, Pseudozaphanera wariensis by @mariannebroug.
A 'Corellatoo' by @magpies_friends.
An Insect-Parasitising Nematodes by @dmail.
A suspected Cicada-Parasite Beetle Rhipicera femorata by @nomesdownunder.
The first record of Synemon theresa on iNat by @adrianuren.
A Sand-Loving Wasp taking on a Mantis by @belindacopland.
See the full list of the popular observations from February here.
(These are taken from observation during the month with at least one 'favourite'. If you see an interesting observation from SA, remember to favourite it, and it might appear here at the end of the month).


Featured Project
The Adelaide Parklands Umbrella Project brings together 32 separate park projects encompassing the 7.6 square kilometres of parks surrounding Adelaide. 374 observers have uploaded 5,400 observations from 655 species so far, with so much more to discover. Why not check out the Chequered Copper Butterfly conservation site in Victoria Park .


Do you have a particular expertise and are keen to help out with identifications in SA? Select your favourite taxa below to head to the Identify page:
Aves / Amphibia / Reptilia / Mammalia / Ray-Finned Fishes / Mollusca / Arachnida / Insecta / Plantae / Fungi / Protozoa / Unknowns


Top observers & species observed in February:




















(Data used for this post taken on the 8th of March. It excludes any observations and identifications from February that were uploaded after this date)
(This post is also available on the Epistemic Curiosity Blog)

On the 8th of March 2022, we reached 300,000 verifiable observations uploaded in South Australia!

Congratulations to all who have contributed to this milestone. The first observations in SA were uploaded around mid-2011 and had only reached 4,500 by the end of 2017. Since then however the rate has increase dramatically reaching 23,500 by end of 2018, then 66,800 by end of 2019, on to 162,400 by end of 2020, and 282,700 by end of 2021.


We surpassed 100,000 observations in May 2020. It took 9 years to reach that milestone. It took only 12 months to add the second 100,000, and only 10 months to add the third 100,000! We are currently uploading over 300 new observations per day.


Alas, the exponential increase in observations cannot continue forever, and has been dropping year by year. 2018 saw a 520% increase in observations, 2019 a 280% increase, 2020 a 240% increase, and in 2021 a 170% increase. If we estimate a 140% increase this year, we'll reach 400,000 observations by the end of 2022. And all it would take is 336 observations per day.





Quick Stats:

• 4,242 observers have uploaded records of 8,726 species across the state


• 68.2% of all verifiable observations are Research Grade


• 9,401 observations of 244 Threatened species


• 22,639 observations of 932 Introduced species


• 4,780 identifiers have made 543,600 identifications on observations from SA


• Observations by Taxa: 56,340 Birds, 884 Amphibians, 7,293 Reptiles, 7,016 Mammals, 11,729 Ray-finned Fishes, 10,360 Molluscs, 8,832 Arachnids, 52,725 Insects, 114,858 Plants, 11,376 Fungi, 1,588 Kelp & 155 Protozoans


• Species by Taxa: 362 Birds, 20 Amphibians, 172 Reptiles, 85 Mammals, 278 Ray-finned Fishes, 486 Molluscs, 344 Arachnids, 2,685 Insects, 3020 Plants, 499 Fungi, 71 Kelp & 15 Protozoans