An Unfortunate Trend on iNaturalist

I have noticed a very unfortunate trend on iNaturalist. There has been a large increase in people posting photos of captive animals or cultivated plants. Many naturalists and wildlife researchers like myself find iNaturalist to be a very valuable resource, especially to track the populations of both native and invasive Florida species. It also is a phenomenal resource to use when books and other internet sites fail to provide an identification of certain species, by tapping into the knowledge of the community. I personally spend at least 2 hours every day identifying species for other users and enjoy seeing users that are new to the site being excited when their finds are identified. Increasing the public's own knowledge and interest in local species is necessary for conservation. I however am very disappointed to see that some users are continually posting captive and/or cultivated plant and animals photos for identification that they have taken at zoos, botanical gardens, the garden sections at Home Depot & Walmart, and even their own pets. This is very annoying as it clutters up iNaturalist with these photos that are scientifically worthless. I don't understand how these users can not feel foolish posting dozens of zoo photos as "unknown" when the animal names are on the enclosure signs. The same goes for posting potted plant photos taken at Home Depot or Walmart as "unknown" when the name of the plant is literally stuck to the pot most times. Some of these users I believe have the misguided idea that they are somehow helping science by photographing every potted plant for sale at a nursery or caged animal in a zoo, but what they are doing is quite the opposite. They are wasting their own time and that of other iNaturalist users. I am not in any way saying that I disagree with all captive animals, as many zoos are essential for breeding endangered species and providing education to the public. When I visit a zoo, the only animals I am photographing are the non-captive, wild species that have found sanctuary there as well. I understand that captive and cultivated photos are technically allowed on iNaturalist, even pictures of people's pet dogs and cats, but I know that many others feel the same as I do. I believe that in the future that these scientifically worthless photos should be flagged and removed as they are getting in the way of real scientific discovery.

Publicado el 21 de septiembre de 2020 por sauron978