City Nature Challenge 2024: Southern Africa's Journal

The CREW Programme provides in-person iNaturalist training to students based at HEIs across South Africa. Upon completion of the training, a project is set up to track student participation over the year. The student with the most observations is then awarded.

Participation in CNC 2024 is as follows:

Tshwane University of Technology (Environmental Management): 184 observations; 84 species
Highest observer: @ayanda_moiponi (92 observations)

North West University (Mahikeng campus): 120 observations, 53 species
Highest observer: @maeka (34 observations)

Tshwane University of Technology (Nature Conservation): 2 observations; 2 species
Highest observer: @nomthandazo6 (2 observations)

Mangasutho University of Technology (Nature Conservation): 3 observations; 2 species
Highest observer: @reply1 (2 observations)

Sadly no participation from students at the University of Johannesburg

While we understand that a proportion of observations are not of good photo quality to ascertain identification to species level, with time those keen on surveys can only improve their photography skills. We encourage our identifiers to share tips and tricks for their respective taxon groups and produce videos and crib notes that we share via our YouTube channel. Also, assist us by marking observations recorded in gardens as cultivated/ captive.

Our participation in CNC annually brings much fun being in nature, while feeding foundational biodiversity data to our national datasets, especially that of endemic, threatened, and protected species.
More importantly, CNC data is being analyzed by local government agencies responsible for managing and reporting on biodiversity at the municipal scale.

The South African Red List Plants and Animals Project produced 473 Threatened species

405 Plant species
33 Bird species
12 Mammal species
5 Reptile species
6 Amphibian species
5 Ray finned fish species

Note that these are records as per the South African Red List Plants and Animals Project which does not have all taxonomic groups listed.

The NEMBA Alien Species South Africa Project produced 265 Invasive species

242 Invasive Plant species
7 Invasive Bird species
5 Invasive Fish species
4 Invasive Insect species
2 Invasive Mammal species
2 Invasive Mollusk species

Number of people participated:

1. Western Cape (Weskus, Cape Town, Overstrand, Garden Route): 1,551
2. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN South Coast, eThekwini, KZN Midlands, Dolphin Coast, Zululand): 496
3. Gauteng (Joburg, Tshwane): 342
4. Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela Bay, Albany CoE, Buffalo City, Pondoland, Umzimvubu): 237
5. Limpopo (Waterberg Capricorn, Thohoyandou): 69
6. Mpumalanga (Wakkerstroom, Mbombela): 52
7. North West (Mahikeng, Potchefstroom): 36
8. Free State (Bloemfontein): 19
9. Northern Cape (Nieuwoudville): 5

Number of observations made:

1. Western Cape (Weskus, Cape Town, Overstrand, Garden Route): 64,025
2. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN South Coast, eThekwini, KZN Midlands, Dolphin Coast, Zululand): 23,031
3. Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela Bay, Albany CoE, Buffalo City, Pondoland, Umzimvubu): 15,742
4. Gauteng (Joburg, Tshwane): 8,907
5. Limpopo (Waterberg Capricorn, Thohoyandou): 2,518
6. North West (Mahikeng, Potchefstroom): 1,818
7. Mpumalanga (Wakkerstroom, Mbombela): 1,595
8. Northern Cape (Nieuwoudville): 756
9. Free State (Bloemfontein): 302

Number of species recorded:

1. Western Cape (Weskus, Cape Town, Overstrand, Garden Route): 4,893
2. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN South Coast, eThekwini, KZN Midlands, Dolphin Coast, Zululand): 3,521
3. Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela Bay, Albany CoE, Buffalo City, Pondoland, Umzimvubu): 2,703
4. Gauteng (Joburg, Tshwane): 1,582
5. Limpopo (Waterberg Capricorn, Thohoyandou): 890
6. Mpumalanga (Wakkerstroom, Mbombela): 731
7. North West (Mahikeng, Potchefstroom): 472
8. Northern Cape (Nieuwoudville): 245
9. Free State (Bloemfontein): 139

Number of identifiers:

1. Western Cape (Weskus, Cape Town, Overstrand, Garden Route): 934
2. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN South Coast, eThekwini, KZN Midlands, Dolphin Coast, Zululand): 542
3. Eastern Cape (Nelson Mandela Bay, Albany CoE, Buffalo City, Pondoland, Umzimvubu): 448
4. Gauteng (Joburg, Tshwane): 340
5. Mpumalanga (Wakkerstroom, Mbombela): 196
6. Limpopo (Waterberg Capricorn, Thohoyandou): 167
7. North West (Mahikeng, Potchefstroom): 107
8. Northern Cape (Nieuwoudville): 60
9. Free State (Bloemfontein): 50

A hearty congratulations to all who have participated in the CNC2024 - from city champions + bioblitz organizers to observers who spent many hours in the field, then sorting through the copious images taken before uploading and the identifiers who spent many hours sharing their knowledge and raising the number of species recorded during the 4-day global event.

The City of Cape Town featured #10 for the number of observations made and #8 for the number of species recorded on the global leaderboard. See here for more global results.

We have much to celebrate as the southern African community as 36 cities, representing 9 African countries participated in the CNC 2024 (compared to 31 cities, representing 6 African countries in CNC 2023). A total of 136, 234 observations were made by 2,980 observers. Thus far 10,093 species have been identified by 1465 identifiers with this number increasing as more identifications are made with time. The number of casual observations has decreased to 9.1% from 12.5% last year implying that participants are focussing on wild species (ie. neither captive nor cultivated).

The most observed species in Africa was Osteospermum moniliferum (Bietou) with 715 observations.

Ranked in number of people participated:

1. South Africa*: 2778
2. Mozambique (Maputo): 28
3. Kenya (Nairobi + Kajiado): 22
4. Namibia (Windhoek + Katima Mulilo): 22
5. Botswana: 12
6. Malawi (Lilongwe): 10
7. Madagascar (Antananarivo): 9
8. Eswatini (Hhohho + Lubombo +Manzini):4
9. Gabon (Bakoumba): 2

Ranked in number of observations made:

1. South Africa*: 118,676
2. Botswana: 1,523
3. Namibia (Windhoek + Katima Mulilo): 1,302
4. Eswatini (Hhohho + Lubombo +Manzini): 776
5. Mozambique (Maputo): 389
6. Madagascar (Antananarivo): 321
7. Malawi (Lilongwe): 302
8. Gabon (Bakoumba): 274
9. Kenya (Nairobi + Kajiado): 153

Ranked in number of species recorded:

1. South Africa*: 9,028
2. Botswana: 571
3. Namibia (Windhoek + Katima Mulilo): 517
4. Eswatini (Hhohho + Lubombo +Manzini): 415
5. Mozambique (Maputo): 207
6. Malawi (Lilongwe): 177
7. Madagascar (Antananarivo): 160
8. Kenya (Nairobi + Kajiado): 110
9. Gabon (Bakoumba): 108

• Since 25 South African cities participated, the results will be featured per province as a separate journal entry.

Three Biologists Walk the same trail at the same time. How can they see the wildlife so differently?

Paardeberg Trail above Kleinmond on Day 1 of the City Nature Challenge.

• View their lists here
  (species summary of observations in list and map form)
  .
  .

Alex - herpetologist

Tony - vegetation community ecologist

Pat - ecological consultant

Things are moving very slowly. Thanks to everyone who has helped clear the unknowns, which currently stand at 7,854 out of 130,730 observations, so 6%.

But now we need to change tack. We need to abandon the unknowns and focus on getting our identified observation up to Research Grade. So grab hold of the field guides and check up on what the specialists have been doing, and let us see how close we can move our Research Grade observations to our original target of 66.7%. Currently we are only at 33.9%.

Headline Stats

Of our 130,730 observations of 9,873 species (will we make 10,000 species this year?)

Some 819 observations have no media - these cannot be identified or verified.
Some 10,605 (8%) observations are planted or captive - please remember to mark any observations as captive if necessary!
Some 11,586 (9%) are not verifiable (this includes planted and medialess observations)
Needs ID 74,778 (57%) - our goal was to get this below 30% by Sunday night.
of which 32,139 (25%) have been identified to species and need verification for Research Grade.

Research Grade: 44,395 (34%) observations - our goal was to get this to 66% by Sunday night.

Please help with Identifications - Round 3:

Phase 1: Moving IDs to Research Grade:

These are now top priority. Please whip our your favourite field guides and check that these species are correct.

• If so, AGREE.
  
• If not, post an alternative name.
  
• If you dont know, then skip.

(remember to mark each page as reviewed when done to optimize your workflow).

• Help ID Plants 27,050 obs
• Help ID Insects 1,620 obs
• Help ID Fungi 1,150 obs
• Help ID Birds 500 obs
• Help ID Molluscs 480 obs
• Help ID Mammals 290 obs
• Help ID Spiders & Scorpions 280 obs
• Help ID Herps 65 obs
• Help ID Fish 60 obs

Phase 2: Identifying down to species from Family and Order:

(You can filter further by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box.)
If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.

• Help ID Plants 22,500 obs
• Help ID Insects 5,980 obs
• Help ID Fungi 1,900 obs
• Help ID Spiders & Scorpions 1,440 obs
• Help ID Molluscs 660 obs
• Help ID Birds 630 obs
• Help ID Mammals 210 obs
• Help ID Herps 180 obs
• Help ID Fish 70 obs

Phase 3: Mopping up Unknowns:

• Unknowns: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=any&iconic_taxa=unknown&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&place_id=any&verifiable=true&page=7 7,854 obs
  If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.

Phase 4: Review of Identifications:

We dont really have time for this, so it will have to be done over the rest of the year - hopefully most will be done before the Great Southern Bioblitz 2024 in September.
For the next 24 hours, this is lowest priority :: not a priority at all. Please rather review above.
If you want to check, then please click here and add the taxon you wish to review:

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=research&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&verifiable=any&taxon_id=64517&place_id=any
  To effectively curate this, you will need to be proficient with the ID curation tool. See below:

Notes

Good luck: this is it - the last phase.

• FAVES: Please Fave any observations that are worthy, for any reason you think it is special. These will tally to the Observation of the City Nature Challenge, at various levels. You can also Fave any that you might want to return to after the CNC. (Your Faved observations are available on your dashboard). Please also Fave any first time observations for a species.
• CAPTIVE/PLANTED: Remember to mark any observations that are planted or captive by ticking the Captive-Cultivated box.
• TREES: if you cannot identify a plant, but can see that it is a tree, the please add it to the Tree ID project (you need to join first - here): https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/trees-of-southern-africa-id
• How the ID curation tool works. Please review this 2.3minute tutorial if you need a refresher:: https://vimeo.com/246153496

Phase III Identifications.

Thanks all for a sterling job.
It is now time to start focusing on getting observations to Research Grade. However, with a backlog of 14,000 Unknowns, we also need people to tackle this group urgently

Headline Stats

Of our 124,371 observations of 9,548 species (does not look like we will make 10,000 this year)

• Some 807 observations have no media - these cannot be identified or verified. Thanks to the 50 observations fixed.
• Some 9,726 observations are planted or captive (up 1,600). - please remember to mark any observations as captive if necessary!
• Some 10,638 (8%) are not verifiable (this includes planted and medialess observations)

• Needs ID 75,199 74,652 (66%) - (down 500) our goal was to get this below 30% by Sunday night.
  of which 30,693 (25%) have been identified to species and need verification for Research Grade.

• Research Grade: 39,099 (31%) (up 400) observations - our goal was to get this to 66% by Sunday night.

Please help with Identifications - Round 3:

Phase 1: IDs above species:

(You can filter further by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box.)
If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.

• Help ID Plants 23,783 obs
• Help ID Insects 5,699 obs
• Help ID Fungi 1,732 obs
• Help ID Spiders & Scorpions 1,377 obs
• Help ID Molluscs 612 obs
• Help ID Birds 546 obs
• Help ID Mammals 242 obs
• Help ID Herps 211 obs
• Help ID Fish 85 obs

Phase 2: Unknowns:

We need everyone to muck in here please. We need to move these 14,548 Unknown observations to family or lower level.

• Unknowns: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=any&iconic_taxa=unknown&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&place_id=any&verifiable=true&page=7
  If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.

Phase 3: Specialists.

Can specialists please start clearing your orders, families, tribes and genera.
Here is your link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=needs_id&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&verifiable=true&place_id=any

• Filter by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box
• Remember when you get to the end of the batch, to mark all as "reviewed"
• When done with all your taxa, please help clear the Phase 2 and 1 observations.

Notes

Good luck: summaries will be posted below, until we enter the next phase.

• FAVES: Please Fave any observations that are worthy, for any reason you think it is special. These will tally to the Observation of the City Nature Challenge, at various levels. You can also Fave any that you might want to return to after the CNC. (Your Faved observations are available on your dashboard). Please also Fave any first time observations for a species.
• CAPTIVE/PLANTED: Remember to mark any observations that are planted or captive by ticking the Captive-Cultivated box.

Thank you everyone for helping with the huge Identification effort underway. If you can spare any time, please join in and help with identifications.

Special thanks to our heavy duty identifiers. You can see who they are here:
https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa?tab=identifiers

How far are we?

• We have 113,897 observations, submitted by 2,872 observers.
• We have 9,089 species - will we make 10,000 species??
• We have 1,156 identifiers, who have made 135,000 identifications. - we will need 227,000 identifications at a minimum to get all observations to Research Grade.

Of our 113,897 observations

• Some 855 observations have no media - these cannot be identified or verified. All have been commented on: please check that all your observations have media.
• Some 8,136 observations are planted or captive. - please remember to mark any observations as captive if necessary!
• Some 9,079 (8%) are not verifiable (this includes planted and medialess observations)
• Needs ID 75,199 (66%) - our goal is to get this below 30% by Sunday night.
• Research Grade: 29,697 (26%) observations - our goal is to get this to 66% by Sunday night.

So what now?

Please help with Identifications - Round 2:

Phase 1: Unknowns:
We need everyone to muck in here please. We need to move these 18,566 Unknown observations to family or lower level.

• Unknowns: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=any&iconic_taxa=unknown&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&place_id=any&verifiable=true
• If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.
  

Phase 2: IDs above family:
(You can filter further by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box.)
If you would like to focus on your city, then add it to the "place" box at the top of the filter.

• Plants: help ID plants to family or lower here
• Vertebrates: help ID birds, mammals, herps and fish to family or lower here

• Invertebrates: help ID Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs and Worms to family or lower here and
  Option help ID Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs and Worms without Moths to family or lower here

• Fungi : help ID Fungi and Lichens to family or lower here

Phase 3: Specialists.
Can specialists please start clearing your orders, families, tribes and genera.

1. Filter by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box
2. Remember when you get to the end of the batch, to mark all as "reviewed"
3. When done with all your taxa, please help clear the Phase 2 and 1 observations.
4. Here is your link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=needs_id&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&verifiable=true&place_id=any
5. At this stage we are only focusing on observations that need identification. Validation of observations already Research Grade can wait at this stage.

Good luck: summaries will be posted below, until we enter the next phase.
More details can be found here: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa/journal/93660-phase-ii-identifications

NOTE:

• Please Fave any observations that are worthy, for any reason you think it is special. These will tally to the Observation of the City Nature Challenge, at various levels. You can also Fave any that you might want to return to after the CNC. (Your Faved observations are available on your dashboard).

• Remember to mark any observations that are planted or captive by ticking the Captive-Cultivated box.
  
  (both of these can be done at the bottom of the Left Hand Panel.

• You can also add annotations, projects and observation fields on the Annotations Tab on the top of the Right Hand Panel.

The Deadline is Sunday night. So please muck in now!!

Please remember to Fave any exciting observations.

This can be because of an unusual creature, a stunning photograph, an interesting observation, scientific value, because you like it, some interaction, interesting scenery, or whatever reason you like.

Faved observations will be used by cities and organizers to help decide on the Observation of the City Nature Challenge. Other criteria might include the discussion or excitement around an observation, but faves will feature strongly.

Please also remember to mark observations that are planted as captive.

Both Faves and Captive observations can be marked on the bottom of the left hand panel on the Identification Curation Tool.

• You may fave as many observations as you like.
• You may fave your own!
• Feel free to agree with any previous faves, and help vote for the observation of the CNC for your city and more.

Here are the current faves.

They will change as identifiers prowl through the observations, so visit regularly:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?order_by=votes&place_id=any&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&subview=grid&verifiable=any

Thank you everyone for participating in the City Nature Challenge 2024.

We have collected an amazing amount of data
93,008 observations by 2,711 observers.

And the loading is continuing: will we make 100,000 observations for southern Africa?

BUT, now comes the more arduous task: identifying all these observations. This must be completed within a week, so Sunday, May 5 is effective.
During the week, we will streamline the identification process, so please pop onto this umbrella journal and check the latest posts, which will include links to facilitate identification by taxonomic groups, regions, and categories.
It makes sense to pool our resources. We have less than 100 specialists, although lots more very keen and competent people, but we need to strategize for this huge workload.

Lots of people are still loading, so their priority is to get their observations on. Please try and complete it today or tomorrow (remember 1 May is a public holiday, so please work hard on the IDs). When done, they will almost certainly be helping with IDs.

Top priority now is to get identifications from Unknown, and vague, to at least Family level (or genus or species if you recognize it).

The tool we will use is the curation tool. It is really quick and efficient to use, but you will need to know how it works, or perhaps be reminded. Their is a 3 minute tutorial here: please take a moment to review it.:: https://vimeo.com/246153496

OK: here goes: please help us Identify the observations.

Please help with Identifications - Round 1:

Phase 1: Unknowns:

• Unknowns: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=any&iconic_taxa=unknown&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&page=5

Phase 2: IDs above family: (You can filter further by adding your preferred group in the "search species" box)

• Plants: help ID plants to family or lower here
• Vertebrates: help ID birds, mammals, herps and fish to family or lower here
• Invertebrates: help ID Insects, Arachnids, Molluscs and Worms to family or lower here
• Fungi : help ID Fungi and Lichens to family or lower here

FAQ:

1. Q? I am a beginner, but would like to help. Where do I begin?
   A! Please start with the Unknowns (Phase 1) and identify them as well as you can.

2. Q? I would like to stick to birds (or etc). What is the best way for me to help?
   A! Start with the Phase (2), click on your group (vertebrates), and in the "search species" box type birds and click to select and process the birds. When you have done all that you can, please go to Phase 1 and look for birds (or etc.) there.
   But remember: not all birds are in the "birds bin" yet for identification - more will come later.

3. Q? I have identified those observations that I can, but there are lots that I cannot, and they get in the way. Is there a way of getting rid of them on my ID tool?
   A! Yes, when you have finished a page, and cannot identify those that remain, click the "Mark All as Reviewed" option, and they wont appear again (unless you select them by clicking the "reviewed" button).

4. Q? What about Research Grade? We are only identifying them at a course level.
   A! We will check identifications to get them to research grade later in the week. Because that is more specialised, we want to clear the Unknowns and Vaguely Identified observations first and get basic identifications for as many observations as we can.

5. Q? Wont we all be identifying the same unknowns?
   A! No - the filters on iNaturalist are really efficient, and once identified they will be removed from the queue. A very few might be identified twice, but that will help confirm them.

6. Q? I am a keen gardener, and I want to help with garden plants. I like them best. How can I help?
   A! Please. They are also important because they attract pollinators, herbivores and other wild organisms in our gardens. Here are the planted observations that need attention. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/identify?quality_grade=any%2Ccasual&project_id=city-nature-challenge-2024-southern-africa&verifiable=any&photos=true&place_id=any&page=5

7. Q? I dont know a plant on the identifier, but it is unknown. Should I identify it as a plant?
   A! No! Just skip it - leave it for someone else to tackle. Identifications above Order for Invertebrates and Vertebrates are of limited value. If you know it is a fly or beetle (or even in insect), then please ID it as such. But for plants, if you cannot ID it to Family or finer, just skip it. You are wasting valuable time by making such a vague ID as "plant" or "dicot" or "monocot": to be most effective we need finer IDs, so just leave these for others who do recognize them.