Greece is the 37th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. The top observer, @kostaszontanos is based near Thessaloniki. Most of the other top observers are also based in Greece year round. @stevedaniels is based on Crete - check out his Crete Nature Blog. @nickpapag is based near Vasiliki on the island of Lefkada. @vaggeliskoutsoukos, @savvaszafeiriou and others are based near Athens. @aulax is a world traveler but has made many observations from Greece.

iNaturalist has been growing steadily with Greece!

@agapakisnikos is the top identifier and is also based in Greece. @kostaszontanos is the top identifier for insects and plants from Greece. Like @kostaszontanos, @savvaszafeiriou and @nickpapag are top observers and top identifiers. @ldacosta, based elsewhere in Europe, is the top bird identifier as he is for many European countries. Many thanks to all the other top identifiers!

What can we do to help iNaturalist grow in Greece? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@kostaszontanos @stevedaniels @nickpapag @vaggeliskoutsoukos @aulax @savvaszafeiriou @geomer @entzi @agapakisnikos @ldacosta

We’ll be back tomorrow with the Chile!

Today, we start the sixth week of the iNaturalist World Tour. This week will take us to China and Thailand in Asia, Greece and Austria in Europe, Chile in South America, Israel - our first Middle Eastern country - and Tanzania in Africa.

We start in China. Top observers are well distributed across the country with @huang in Hunan, @thelittleman in Hainan, @ladybird\_sunbathing and @qin\_huang near Shangai, @huzi0131 near Fujian, @amarzee north of Shanghai, @liuguangyu in Yunnan and @mrfish33 in Guangxi. You can read more about a snail found by @ladybird\_sunbathing in this Observation of the Week post.

iNaturalist has been growing rapidly in China. One effort we're aware of is @liuguangyu's use of iNaturalist with visitors to the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden.

@sunwenhao90 is the top identifier in China and also the top insect identifier. @kastani and @johnascher lead plant and bird IDs respectively. Many thanks to other top identifiers such as @kevin_siyuan, @rajibmaulick, and @juhakinnunen.

Have you tried using iNaturalist in mainland China? What has been your experience? Please share them below or on this forum thread

@huang @thelittleman @ladybird_sunbathing @qin_huang @huzi0131 @sunwenhao90 @johnascher @kevin_siyuan @rajibmaulick @juhakinnunen

We’ll be back tomorrow with Greece!

Our Observation of the Week is this japanese wireweed, seen in Canada by bclarkston!

“I grew up on the seashore of Vancouver Island, literally dragging dead things home washed ashore by the latest tide so I could study them,” says Bridgette Clarkston, “I've had a deep interest in seaweeds, our marine plants, since I was little and I continue that passion today.” Bridgette is currently a faculty member at the University of British Columbia, where she is a member of the botany department, and tells me “in my spare time, I try to fit in research about our local seaweed species, involving my undergraduate students whenever possible.”

Earlier this month, Bridgette was helping out some biologists who were sampling transects by downtown Vancouver (“my job was to help them identify the different species of seaweeds”) when she came across the above japanese wireweed, which is growing on the back of a chiton. As its common name suggests, this plant originates in Japan but has become established in much of Europe and along much of the eastern Pacific, including, of course, Vancouver. It can tolerate large ranges of both salinity and temperature, and while it likes to anchor onto rocks and other surfaces, it can create hazardous conditions for boats when large mats of it are broken free.

Bridgette (above) say she’s new to iNaturalist but is “absolutely loving it.” She does collect seaweeds and dries them to make herbarium specimens, and explains 

Seaweeds preserved in this way will be around for many, many years but it does take a long time for the information about that seaweed to become publicly available in the herbarium's digital database. With iNaturalist, I can still preserve the pressed seaweed in an herbarium, but I can also instantly share the observation with the whole world and share lots of photos of the seaweed "in nature". I love that.

She and one of her students are using iNaturalist to document seaweeds in the Greater Vancouver area this summer, and says this type of survey hasn’t been undertaken in over thirty years. “We eventually hope to publish the results of our work in a scientific journal, but for now, iNaturalist allows us to instantly share what we find with the general public,” she tells me. “I plan to use iNaturalist with my students in future courses to continue documenting our local seaweed flora.”

- by Tony Iwane

- Bridgette is the co-author of Pacific Seaweeds, check it out here.

- This is not the first Observation of the Week involving a chiton and another organism: behold the chiton crab!

We end Week 5 on the iNaturalist World Tour in Madagascar. This is just the second country we've visited on the African continent so far, after South Africa. The top two observers @onjalalaina and @damontighe have observations centered in the Fianarantsoa region. Observations by @franck, @davidrabehevitra, and @romer are centered in the region around the capital of Antananarivo. @feno stands apart with observations centered along the northwestern coast.

Madagascar's isolation has resulted in some of the most unique and bizarre biodiversity found anywhere in the globe. Check out this Observation of the Week featuring one of @nlblock's observations and this one featuring one of @victorialnjackson's to get a sense for these strange species. On top of this, Madagascar is often referred to as the "hottest of the hotspots" - places where high numbers of unique species collide with severe threats such as deforestation.

One thing that stands out in Madagascar is that despite its position as a natural history mecca for visitors from around the world, most of the top observers are Malagasy. This strong community of Malagasy iNaturalist users can be traced to the Zavamaniry Gasy project which @stevenkew and his colleagues at the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens helped initiate with the support of the JRS foundation. This Observation of the Week by @fabienrahaingo gives a sense for the project as do many tweets by @TeamKMCC.

The chart of observations per month shows the launch of the Zavamaniry Gasy project towards the end of 2014. The peak in February 2018 is driven by a visit by iNaturalist super user @damontighe which you can read more about in this Observation of the Week post. But the fact that the Zavamaniry Gasy community is still active nearly 5 years after launching is amazing. Its clearly one of the factors driving recent growth of iNaturalist in Madagascar.

Members of the Zavamaniry Gasy community are also some of the top identifiers such as @davidrabehevitra, @romer, and @franck. @jakob, who has a wealth of expertise from Africa, leads insect identifications. @markscherz and @jbroadhead lead herp and bird identifications respectively. Many thanks to other top identifiers such as @danielaustin.

What can we do make iNaturalist better in Madagascar? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@onjalalaina @damontighe @franck @feno @davidrabehevitra @esrakotoarisoa @jakob @romer @jbroadhead @danielaustin

We’ll be back tomorrow with the China!

Peru is the 34th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. Here, the top observer is @ripleyrm who is based in England but has botanized up and down the spine of Peru. Most of the top observer activity is clustered in the Amazon parts of Peru. @philkahler and @sullivanribbit in Loreto. But most of the top observers are clustered in the Madre de Dios region and the slope of the Andes near Cusco. @diego\_amazonia and @cstobie appear to be based Peru year round but most of the other top observers are among the many visitors from elsewhere who have worked or traveled extensively in Peru (e.g. @arnoldwijker, @tonyrebelo, @birdernaturalist @eccentric\_entomophile, @cullen. @sandralamberts). You can read about one of @cullen's Peruvian dragonfly encounters in this Observation of the Week blog.

The number of observations per month has been growing over the past few years. But the jagged edge probably reflects sporadic visits, field seasons from travelers to Peru from elsewhere. It doesn't appear that iNaturalist has yet caught on much with Peruvians as much as it has in neighboring countries like Ecuador or Colombia.

We're fortunate to have local top identifiers lending their South American expertise such as @cstobie (the top identifier overall and top insect identifier) @diegoalmendras (the top bird observer), @frank\_arroyo and @diego\_amazonia. @ripleyrm leads as the top plant identifier. Thanks to many other top identifiers such as @john8, @johnascher, @jasonrgrant, @johngsalamander, and @henicorhina.

What can we do to get more Peruvians using iNaturalist? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@ripleyrm @diego_amazonia @arnoldwijker @tonyrebelo @birdernaturalist @diegoalmendras @ripleyrm @john8 @johnascher @frank_arroyo

We’ll be back tomorrow with the Madagascar!

Denmark is the 33rd stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. The top observer in Denmark is @dhobern who until recently was the director of GBIF. Now based in Australia, you can read more about his naturalizing in this recent Observation of the Week blog post. Its interesting that most of the top observers from the Copenhagen are part of the GBIF team (e.g. @kcopas, @dschigel, and @nvolik) - with whom I recently had a great opportunity to go mothing!

Nearly all of the other top observers from Denmark, however, are based in regions to the West. Many top users are based near Aarhus including @theanimalenthusiast, @oskarlphansen, @mortenddhansen, and @mikkel65. You can read @theanimalenthusiast's blog of the same name here. @oskarlphansen and @mortenddhansen are both associated with the Aarhus Natural History Museum. @mettehhh, a biology teacher with VIA University College, and @kaspermalmberg are based to the north. @jornari is active to the south (check out his Danish Nudibranch site here). @erlandreflingnielsen is a world traveler but his Danish observations are also clustered to the south.

iNaturalist is growing rapidly in Denmark. We suspect outreach by @mortenddhansen and his colleagues at the Aarhus Natural History Museum and by the GBIF team is responsible for much of this growth. Also thanks to @cmcheatle who has helped add many Danish common names despite being based in Canada.

The mysterious @monicaoyre is the top identifier in Denmark. @veronika\_johansson, @oskarlphansen, and @ldacosta lead for plants, insects and birds respectively. Thanks to @efrby, @ldalby, @mikkel\_dybdal, and @johnoved for sharing their local expertise, to @amzamz for all his identifications out of Germany, and all the other top identifiers.

What can make iNaturalsit better in Denmark? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread.

@dhobern @theanimalenthusiast @mettehhh @oskarlphansen @mortenddhansen @monicaoyre @ldacosta @efrby @amzamz @ldalby

We’ll be back tomorrow with Peru!

The Czech Republic is the 32nd stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. As expected there is a cluster of top observers around the capital of Prague (e.g. @lioneska, @daczison, @lenkajanochova, @petra\_cze, @pan\_psax, @audulinka, @mnauky). But many of the top observers are based in different regions including the top observer @romanvrbicek in the Zlín Region, @boromir in the Pardubice Region, @zdekanovkov in the Liberec Region, @thekakarinka in the Vysočina Region and @evamana\_kv in the Karlovy Vary Region. Don't miss this Observation of the Week blog on a Common Hoopoe sighting by @lioneska, as well as this one featuring @boromir.

iNaturalist has been growing rapidly in the Czech Republic this year. You can see the April peaks from the 2018 and 2019 Prague City Nature Challenge events organized by the National Museum (e.g. @petra\_cze, @duch, @manumea2000, @jifrank and @blankavagnerov). Other institutions were involved as well including @miroslavbobek, @vitlukas and @lenkajanochova from the Prague Zoo, @audulinka from City Hall Prague. In addition to City Nature Challenge, there are many other efforts and stories driving growth in the Czech Republic. @boromir is a teacher at a secondary school in Vysoké Mýto and has many projects using iNaturalist in her classes. @ondrejzicha leads the online Biolib.cz biodiversity encyclopedia.

@duch, a botanist at the National Museum is the top identifier from the Czech Republic. @thekakarinka and @zdekanovkov are also lending local expertise as top identifiers. @borisb and @ldacosta lead identifications for insects and birds resepectively. Many thanks to @alexis\_orion and other top identifiers for the Czech Republic.

What can we do to improve iNaturalist in the Czech Republic? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@romanvrbicek @boromir @lioneska @daczison @zdekanovkov @duch @zdekanovkov @alexis_orion @thekakarinka @ldacosta

We’ll be back tomorrow with Denmark!

Panamá - iNaturalist Tour Mundial

We move north to Panama for the 31st stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. Marking the intersection of North and South America and the Pacific and the Atlantic, Panama is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Most of the top 50 observers (e.g. @agonzalo, @jan35, @rosabelmiro, @stephane\_degreef, @eliana19) are clustered around the canal zone where the two largest cities, Panama City and Colon are. Aside from @stephane\_degreef who has traveled extensively in Panama, these 5 top observers here are all Panamanians (and 3 are Panama Audubon members). Elsewhere in the country, most of the top observers are visitors such as @gcwarbler, @tusee, and @timendez clustered around Bocas del Toro and @keesgroenendijk centered around Isla Coiba.

Nos mudamos al norte de Panamá para la 31ª parada en el . Marcando la intersección de América del Norte y del Sur y el Pacífico y el Atlántico, Panamá es uno de los lugares con mayor biodiversidad en el planeta. La mayoría de los 50 observadores principales (por ejemplo, @agonzalo, @jan35, @rosabelmiro, @stephane\_degreef, @eliana19) se agrupan alrededor de la zona del canal donde se encuentran las dos ciudades más grandes, Ciudad de Panamá y Colón. Aparte de @stephane\_degreef que ha viajado extensamente en Panamá, estos 5 observadores principales son todos panameños (y 3 son miembros de Audubon de Panamá ). En otros lugares del país, la mayoría de los principales observadores son visitantes como @gcwarbler, @tusee y @timendez agrupados alrededor de Bocas del Toro y @keesgroenendijk centrados alrededor de la Isla Coiba.

Since 2011, researchers at the Smitsonian Tropical Research Institute, namely @briangratwicke and @rcollin, have been using using and helping to promote iNaturalist in Panama through their activities and projects such as this one. But iNaturalist use in Panama has grown rapidly in the last year because of two developments. the first is the Panama City 2019 City Nature Challenge organized by @rosabelmiro and Panama Audubon. As mentioned above the three top observers are Panama Audubon members (@jan35 being their newly elected president). The second development is the new iNaturalist Panama node to the iNaturalist Network launched under the leadership of @guillermofadul and @brosisrodriguez (who happen to be the top two identifiers in Panama!) through the Panama Ministry of the Environment and other institutions. On a personal note, I had an opportunity to attend a workshop on iNaturalist in Panama this February as part of this launch. It was fantastic to meet so many great naturalists and conservation scientists from Panama including @rosabelmiro and @guido\_panama from Adopta.

Desde 2011, los investigadores del Smitsonian Tropical Research Institute , a saber, @briangratwicke y @rcollin, han estado utilizando y ayudando a promover iNaturalist en Panamá a través de sus actividades y proyectos como this. Pero el uso de iNaturalist en Panamá ha crecido rápidamente en el último año debido a dos acontecimientos. el primero es el Reto Naturalista Urbano 2019 Ciudad de Panamá organizado por @rosabelmiro y Audubon de Panamá. Como se mencionó anteriormente, los tres observadores principales son miembros de Audubon en Panamá (@jan35 es su nuevo presidente electo). El segundo desarrollo es el nuevo nodo iNaturalist Panamá al iNaturalist Network se lanzó bajo el liderazgo de @guillermofadul y @brosisrodriguez (¡quienes son los dos principales identificadores en Panamá!) a través de Ministerio de Medio Ambiente de Panamá y otras instituciones. En una nota personal, tuve la oportunidad de asistir a un taller sobre iNaturalist en Panamá este Febrero como parte de este lanzamiento. Fue fantástico conocer a tantos grandes naturalistas y científicos conservacionistas de Panamá, incluidos @rosabelmiro y @guido\_panama de Adopta.

As mentioned above, @guillermofadul and @brosisrodriguez are not only leading the iNaturalist Panama network node but are also the top two identifiers from Panama. They also lead in identifications of plants and birds respectively alongside @borisb who leads insect IDs. @borisb is famous on iNaturalist for his expertise in beetles around the world. Many thanks to @johngsalamander, @d\_kluza and other top identifiers for sharing their expertise.

Como se mencionó anteriormente, @guillermofadul y @brosisrodriguez no solo lideran el nodo de la red iNaturalist Panamá, sino que también son los dos principales identificadores de Panamá. También lideran las identificaciones de plantas y aves, respectivamente, junto con @borisb, que lidera las identificaciones de insectos. @borisb es famoso en iNaturalist por su experiencia en escarabajos de todo el mundo. Muchas gracias a @johngsalamander, @d\_kluza y otros identificadores principales por compartir su experiencia.

What can we do to help the iNaturalist community in Panama continue this momentum? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

¿Qué podemos hacer para ayudar a la comunidad internacional en Panamá a continuar con este impulso? Comparta sus opiniones a continuación o en este hilo del foro.

@agonzalo, jan35, @rosabelmiro, @stephane_degreef, @eliana19, @guillermofadul, @brosisrodriguez, @jan35, @johngsalamander, @d_kluza

We’ll be back tomorrow with the Czech Republic!

¡Volveremos mañana con la República Checa!

Bolivia - iNaturalist Tour Mundial

We're in Bolivia! We've reached the 30th stop on the iNaturalist World Tour. Here, top observers are near the largest city of Santa Cruz (e.g. @ripleyrm), the Amazon city of Riberalta(e.g. @vincentvosriberalta) Riberalta, but most of all the capital La Paz (e.g. @myxomop, @freddysantiagozentenoruiz, @omargmb, @pollo_al_poder31)

¡Estamos en Bolivia! Hemos llegado a la 30ª parada en el iNaturalist World Tour. Aquí, los principales observadores están cerca de la ciudad más grande de Santa Cruz (por ejemplo, @ripleyrm), la ciudad amazónica de Riberalta (por ejemplo, @vincentvosriberalta) Riberalta, pero sobre todo la capital, La Paz (por ejemplo, @myxomop, @freddysantiagozentenoruiz, @omargmb, @pollo_al_poder31)

The observations per month chart really only has one dominant feature: the peak from City Nature Challenge (CNC) La Paz 2019 organized by @drbiwa and @omar116 which ranked second place in the whole 2019 CNC in terms of number of observations. In April of 2019, observations rocketed to about 70 times the background rate because of this event and then just as quickly fell back down to about 500 observations per month. Its interesting that one of the top 5 observers @freddysantiagozentenoruiz hasn't made observations since CNC. While the two organizers (@drbiwa & @omar116), and three of the top five identifiers (@maylihayes, @david1531, @martinantonioapazaticona) also haven't made observations since CNC, they've all continue to identify observations from CNC into June or July.

El cuadro de observaciones por mes realmente solo tiene una característica dominante: el pico de Reto Ciudad Naturaleza (RCN) La Paz 2019 organizado por @drbiwa y @omar116 que ocupó el segundo lugar en todo el 2019 RCN. En abril de 2019, las observaciones legaron mas o menos de 70 veces normal y luego volvieron a caer a aproximadamente 500 observaciones por mes. Es interesante que uno de los 5 mejores observadores @freddysantiagozentenoruiz no haya hecho observaciones desde el RCN. Si bien los dos organizadores (@drbiwa y @ omar116) y tres de los cinco identificadores principales (@maylihayes, @david1531, @martinantonioapazaticona) tampoco han hecho observaciones desde el RCN, todos han seguido identificando las observaciones desde el RCN hasta junio. o julio.

As mentioned above, three of the top 5 identifiers @maylihayes, @david1531, @martinantonioapazaticona (and also @isabelgomez the top bird identifier) have been focusing on identifying CNC observations but have continued identifying up to the present. @cstobie has lent a great deal of regional expertise from their base in Peru, and @ripleyrm has provided a great deal of expertise from their home in the UK.

Como se mencionó anteriormente, tres de los 5 identificadores principales @maylihayes, @david1531, @martinantonioapazaticona (y también @isabelgomez el identificador superior de aves) se han centrado en identificar observaciones de RCN, pero han seguido identificándose hasta el presente. @cstobie ha prestado una gran cantidad de experiencia regional desde su base en Perú, y @ripleyrm ha proporcionado una gran cantidad de experiencia desde su hogar en el Reino Unido.

What can we do to get people using iNaturalist in Bolivia outside of events like City Nature Challenge. Or perhaps, how can we help leverage City Nature Challenge in Bolivia to help drive use after the event? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

¿Qué podemos hacer para que las personas que usan iNaturalist en Bolivia no participen en eventos como Reto Ciudad Naturaleza ? O tal vez, ¿cómo podemos ayudar a aprovechar Reto Ciudad Naturaleza en Bolivia para ayudar a impulsar el uso después del evento? Por favor, comparte tus pensamientos a continuación o en este hilo del foro

@ripleyrm @vincentvosriberalta @myxomop @freddysantiagozentenoruiz @omargmb @maylihayes @david1531 @martinantonioapazaticona @cstobie @pollo_al_poder31

We’ll be back tomorrow with Panama!

¡Volveremos mañana con Panamá!

Today, we start the fifth week of the iNaturalist World Tour. This week will take us to Japan in Asia, three countries in Latin America (Bolivia, Panama, and Peru), two in Europe (Czech Republic and Denmark), and Madagascar in Africa.

We start in Japan. @harumkoh is another example of a super observer-identifier who tops both the observer and identifier leaderboards in Japan. Most of their observations are around the Tokyo region. This is the center of activity for most of the top observers such as @belvedere04 @jeanvaljean @norio\_nomura @tokue and @keitawatanabe. Outliers include @harazaki on Yakushima Island, @kuroshio near Fukuoka and @pcatlin around Kobi and Kochi - all south of the Tokyo area.

iNaturalist has been growing rapidly in Japan the last two years. There are April peaks that show the effect of City Nature Challenge Tokyo organized by @kobori and @souke. Many thanks to @sudachi and others for their hard work on Japanese translations.

As mentioned above, @harumkoh is the top identifier in addition to being the to observer. @housecrows and @maractwin are leading for plants and fish IDs. Many thanks to other top identifiers such as @yajapin @rajibmaulick @sudachi and @tokue.

What can we do to improve iNaturalist in Japan? Please share your thoughts below or on this forum thread

@harumkoh @harazaki @belvedere04 @jeanvaljean @kuroshio @housecrows @maractwin @yajapin @rajibmaulick @sudachi

We’ll be back tomorrow with Bolivia!