2014 HOT Big Year Competition

Happy New Years! 2013 was our first full year, and it was a good year. During 2013 we made 3,593 observations of 188 species. This includes 57 species of amphibians and 131 species of reptiles. The MVH’s (Most Valuable Herpers) of 2013 were Toby and Conner22. Toby found a total of 108 species, and made 283 observations. Conner22 was a strong second with 92 species and 157 observations. To see the top ten leaders for observations and species, check out the leaderboards for 2013:

http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/amphibians-of-texas-big-year-2013
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/reptiles-of-texas-big-year-2013

Toby and Conner22 have set a high bar for what you can see in Texas in a year, but we are sure people can top it. For 2014 we are starting a competition to see who can find the most species of Reptiles and Amphibians and who will post the most observations. Unfortunately for Toby, and fortunately for everyone else, curators cannot win. So it appears that Conner22 is the person to beat in 2014. We will see….. The winners will get to choose from some HOT herp gear: stump ripper, headlamp, reflective vest, field guides, and more.

You can check the 2014 leaderboards over the course of the year here:
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/reptiles-of-texas-big-year-2014
http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/amphibians-of-texas-big-year-2014

Terms of the competition:

-Observations must be added to the Herps of Texas Project
-Each species must have at least one research grade observation with a photograph or a sound recording
-The Curators of Herps of Texas will resolve any disputes in species identification.
-Herps of Texas Curators may not win the competition.
-Participants may win in one of three ways:
1. Observe the most species of Reptiles in Texas in 2014.
2. Observe the most species of Amphibians in Texas in 2014.
3. Post the most observations of Reptiles and Amphibians in Texas in 2014.

Posted on January 7, 2014 04:07 PM by cullen