Suriname - iNaturalist World Tour
We end Week 17 of the iNaturalist World Tour back in the Neotropics where we started - in Suriname. Suriname sits above Brazil with French Guiana to the East and Guyana to the West. And while these countries have respective Portuguese, French, and British colonial pasts, Suriname has a Dutch colonial legacy.
The top observer is @gerryvantonder who remotely from The UK is working with his brother based in Suriname near the border with French Guiana to document local wildlife. @gerryvantonder's brother sends him photographs which he works to identify and posts to iNaturalist. The second top observer is @djhiker with observations clustered around the capital of Paramaribo along with other top observers such as @nicovr and @bjsmit. The third top observer, @karsten_s has observations from all around Suriname as does @paulcools, the 4th top observer. But on the map, @paulcools appears near Brownsberg Nature Park. This is where the highest concentration of top observers are clustered, perhaps second to only to Paramaribo. They include @mark185, @remco, @mikegrutherford, and @andrewrodrigues.
The number of observations per month ramped up suddenly in 2019 when @gerryvantonder joined the site. Over 500 observations were posted in September of this year, a new high for the country.
The top identifier is @matthewcock who is interested in Lepidoptera of nearby Trinidad and Tobago. @matthewcock also leads in insect IDs along with @rstlaurent (a PhD candidate at the University of Florida studying Lepidoptera) and @johnascher (an entomologist based in Singapore). @ozzhernandez from nearby Venezuela leads in bird IDs and @anabela2 leads in Mollusk IDs.
What can we do to get more people in Suriname using iNaturalist? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread.
@gerryvantonder @djhiker @karsten_s @paulcools @mark185 @matthewcock @ozzhernandez @rstlaurent @johnascher @anabela2
We’ll be back tomorrow in Ghana!
Comentarios
The graphs showing number of observations with time are very interesting for all the countries. How can we iNatters get similar graphs quickly plotted for our countries, regions, towns, game parks etc. the figures and graph shapes are ever-changing as more and more records are added retrospectively going back to 1990 or even earlier. Is there a SIMPLE way for an iNatter who knows nothing about coding to generate similar graphs as those used in the World Tour but have more control of the location and the date when observations start ?
All the graphs you present on the World Tour are very encouraging and generally show an upward trend which inspires us to have faith that iNat is here to stay and is not just a temporary craze.
Botswanabugs (aka Tony Benn )
Just a minor correction: I am in fact resident in the UK, having moved here from Zimbabwe in 1999.
My brother, Jo’, and I are not professionals, nor do we profess to be experts. What started as a casual interest in April this year has, through our passion for this work, grown into a full-blown project to photograph as much of Suriname’s fauna until Jo’s contract ends in mid-2020. All observations are exclusively uploaded on to iNaturalist, without which we would be totally lost.
Our prime objective is to go some way in correcting what is a substantial dearth of records of this country’s remarkable biodiversity. Such work can, by definition, never be definitive, but an image-supported checklist will contribute hugely to our knowledge of what species are actually found in Suriname. As – among others - @matthewcock, @rstlaurent, @kyhlaustin, @entomokot, @ropro, @borisb, @tusee, @vitalfranz, @karsten_s, @rob-westerduijn, @kwillmott, @marcepstein, @e16, @ianswift, @hisserdude can attest, our observations do raise a good number of posers! My sincere thanks to their invaluable support. Ultimately, we will publish our ‘survey’.
Finally, an appeal to all the experts in the iNat community, particularly the lepidopterists (specifically moths), to please assist with my species identification. Ours is a non-profit personal initiative in the broader interests of entomology, and one which I believe will benefit many. This in itself will encourage others in Suriname to join in, especially when their observations are more readily identifiable. However, as these statistics show, two thirds of my observations, predominantly moths, remain unidentified.
Since April this year, I have uploaded 1,380 observations. In this figure, there is only a small handful of duplicate species observations which I have uploaded as there appear to be variances. Of this number, only 491 species have been identified. And what puts it all into perspective, is that of these species, 161 are 1st Observations and 70 are Default type images. I often wonder what else is lurking in my pool of unidentified observations.
Bravo Gerry!
Only possible through the kind assistance from folk like you Earl!
Great work Gerry! (And thanks for the correction, change made)
Thanks, Scott. Very exciting.
Congrats Mr. Van Tonder! :)
@rafael_gianni por aqui tambien aparecemos...
@ozzhernandez si he ayudado a validar unos cuantos registros
I am Gerry's brother Jo' in Suriname. I am a keen photographer so enjoy the thrill of getting into the jungle with my camera. Sadly work occupies much of my time but I still get a once-a-week gap to go "exploring". I am very excited about the "work" we are doing and the potential contribution we are making to the scientific world with respect to the natural life of Suriname. This is really an amazing place. A few colleagues do follow Suriname iNat page and at least 1 other does contribute. Gerry and I hope that our contribution helps to create a sense of excitement for this great country.
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