We are seeing observations with a range of locational accuracy, a measurement of the location’s precision. Some people are posting observations from with very general locations (over 1 km), while others are posting observations that are mapped to within 5 or 10 meters of the actual observation. No matter what your accuracy is for an observation, it is important to assign the accuracy so we know how the data can be used. An observation lacking an assigned accuracy has very limited value.

The observations that you provide are used for a variety of conservation purposes. Some do not require a high degree of accuracy, like county lists. Other projects, like distribution modeling, require an accuracy of 30 meters or less. Observations without an assigned accuracy will not be used for environmental review, conservation planning, or distribution modeling.

Fortunately, it is easy to assign accuracy with iNaturalist. If you record the location with the iNaturalist app, then it assigns the accuracy automatically. However, if you assign the location using the metadata from a photo, or by manually mapping it through the web interface, then you need to add the accuracy by editing the observation.

The accuracy field, labeled “Acc (M)”, is located directly below the coordinates, and just above the map. Just enter the distance in meters that includes the entire area where the observation could have taken place. When you assign accuracy, a red circle around the point will appear. You can click on the circle and drag it in or out based on the map and it will automatically adjust the accuracy. It is also possible to edit accuracy for multiple observations using the batch edit tool.

If you are concerned about mapping a precise location, you may want to adjust the geoprivacy setting. You can learn more about geoprivacy here: http://www.inaturalist.org/pages/help#geoprivacy

Thanks to the Snake Days event and TPWD, you can now document observations by recording sounds! Sounds are a great way to post observations of frogs that you can hear, but can't photograph. Even if you can get a photograph of the frog, the call can be helpful for identification. With some species, such as Gray Treefrogs, the calls are essential to identification. In addition, sound recordings not only document the species, they are a great way to document an amphibian community by documenting the number of calling individuals of different species at a particular place and time. This is an exciting tool, and we are looking forward to what we might hear.

Currently, you have to upload your recording to SoundCloud, and then add the recording to the observation online. SoundCloud has a great app that you can use to record sounds with your smartphone, but you can also upload any recording from any device to your SoundCloud account. We hope that sounds will eventually be incorporated into the iNaturalist mobile app, but for now the easiest way to document sounds is with the SoundCloud app.

Suggested steps for adding a sound to an observation:

1. Sign up for a SoundCloud account: www.soundcloud.com

2. Download a sound recording app.
   -For Android you can use the Soundcloud App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.soundcloud.android&hl=en
   -For iPhone: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/audiocopy/id719137307?mt=8

3. Record a sound in the field. Be sure to name it with a unique name and location. The app does not automatically record the date, time, and location.
4. Add an iNaturalist observation to record the date, time, and location. Be sure to note the unique name of the sound recording.
5. When you get back to your computer, link your iNaturalist account to SoundCloud. There is a link to connect to SoundCloud when you edit your profile. If you are not linked to SoundCloud, you will be prompted to link to SoundCloud when you add a sound to an observation.
6. Edit your observation, and click on “Add sounds” in the upper right hand corner.
7. You should see a list of your sounds on SoundCloud. Click on the box next to your sound recording, and then “Save observation” at the bottom of the page.

Remember, you can post sounds in addition to photographs or based on sounds alone. Either way, we are excited about this new tool and looking forward to hearing some sounds!

Jeff Adams sent out a nice note to everyone involved in Snake Days. For those that missed it, the event is a great opportunity to meet some knowledgeable herpers and see some very cool reptiles and amphibians. Here is the note:

With SnakeDays 2013 behind us, we would be remiss to not extend a big THANKS to the sponsors that gave generously with their time, money, and merchandise. You are an important part of this event and we couldn’t do it without you. There was an excellent response this year with a diverse group of over 100 attendees during our lectures on Saturday. Particularly encouraging was the strong presence of Texas Parks and Wildlife field biologists and law enforcement officials.

Additionally, we were able to see tangible results from our donation to TPWD last year in the form of Texas Horned Lizard research and the Herps of Texas project through iNaturalist. Data collection is made easy through the iNaturalist app available on any smart phone. It is a simple and powerful tool that helps you record geo-located data points for any reptile or amphibian you find. This is yet another way we can do our part as citizen scientists and make the most of time spent in the field. If you haven’t checked out this project, take a few minutes and have a look.

Planning for SnakeDays 2014 is already well underway and we look forward to your continued support in the years to come. It was great to see all who made the trek to Sanderson and for those that weren’t able to be there, we hope to see you next year!

Join us for SnakeDays 2014
May 30th - June 1st 2014
Visit us at www.snakedays.com or find us on Facebook (snakedays)

A&M is conducting important work on massasaugas, read this note from Wade Ryberg to see how you can help:

Hello Sauga Network!

We are studying the genetic structure of massasaugas in Texas with funding from Texas Parks and Wildlife and Texas A&M University (TAMU). Massasaugas have a patchy distribution throughout the state that is split between two subspecies (Desert and Western Massasaugas). For some populations, such as those in south Texas, the subspecies identity is not known. This information is important to obtain, because the Desert Massasauga has been petitioned for listing and is currently under 12-month review for candidacy under the US Endangered Species Act. Existing data on Texas massasaugas are limited and more information and analysis is needed to support sound conservation decisions (USFWS is required to base decisions on “best available science”). If the Desert subspecies is listed, we will need to know exactly where it occurs throughout the state to move forward with conservation actions. Our study is designed to use genetic data to provide that information, but we need lots of tissue samples from around the state to do it. If anyone finds a dead massasauga, we would greatly appreciate a tissue sample with locality data and the specimen, too, if possible. Simply place the tissue/specimen in the freezer, and I will make arrangements to come pick it up from you or have it delivered to the Biodiversity Research and Teaching Collections at TAMU. All tissues/specimens are welcome, but we really need samples from south Texas. My email is waryberg@tamu.edu. Thanks for your help in advance!

Wade Ryberg, Toby Hibbitts, and Gary Voelker

Several observers have asked if it is appropriate to post images of dead herps. It sure is. Although we'd all rather see live herps than dead ones, both are potentially valuable observations. An example is Mark Sanders' recent post of a dead copperhead found entwined in nylon bird netting. Not only is this an interesting observation (cooperheads are uncommon in the area where he found it), this is an important opportunity to inform others about the threat posed by this material. Dead-on-road (DOR) observations are often more common than observations of live herps (especially snakes). All of the components of a quality observation are usually there: the location can be easily determined, specimens can be photographed and identified (they're not going anywhere, right?), and behavioral information can often be gleaned from DORs (dead frogs on roads near breeding ponds, snakes with prey in-mouth, etc). A few caveats regarding roadways: collection or handling of wildlife on roadways is illegal in most cases and a herp stamp ($10) is required to collect on right-of-ways. That said, photographing observations usually doesn't require handling or collecting. Finally, don't do anything that would put you or others in danger. There are enough DORs out there already.

This is the time of year when groggy lizards begin to emerge from their winter lairs. Species such as the Texas spiny lizard and Texas alligator lizard have already begun their reproductive period and gravid females can be found making the most of available sunshine on warm days. Get out there and check it out!

As the new semester starts up, some instructors have informed me that they plan to incorporate the H.O.T. project into their curriculum. For example, students in courses with a field component will be required to submit observations as part of their field journals. This is a great way to use iNaturalist in an academic setting and will benefit the project immensely. If any of you are considering using H.O.T./iNaturalist in your classes, let me know. I'd like to track how the H.O.T. project is being used.
On another note, I recently learned that the Android version of the iNaturalist app pales in comparison to the iPhone version. I was unaware of this issue since I am (barely) an iPhone user. We hope to have this resolved in the very near future and I will keep y'all informed of any changes/improvements.
*I should have mentioned this above: The Android version doesn't have a tab for selecting geoprivacy settings. The workaround for this is to simply hold off on syncing your observations until you are at a desktop where you can easily select whatever privacy setting you choose. Have fun and keep the observations coming!

We are currently going through the observations from 2012 and adding data to the Texas Natural Diversity Database. In just a few months we have documented almost all of the species possible in Texas. I very much look forward to what we can achieve in 2013!

I'm sure most of you have noticed the counter at the top of the H.O.T. page indicating how many Texas herp taxa we have observations for and have likely wondered what taxa are missing. Well, we (the inaturalist developers, actually) finally fixed the bug that was not counting subspecies properly. The official count for Herps of Texas is now 206 out of 228. There are only 22 species not yet represented by observations in H.O.T. Some will be easy to tick off (Smilisca, Leptodactylus) and some will be exceedingly difficult (Eurycea robusta, Liochlorophis vernalis, and Tantilla atriceps). I would like to see nearly all 228 taxa represented by the end of the year. So, are you up to the challenge?

Here's the list:

The Herps of Texas project now has over 200 species and over 1,000 observations; not bad for just over two months! Thank you to everyone that has submitted observations.

You may have noticed that the checklist had over 270 taxa this morning. We changed the way it tracks the taxa total to just count species so we don't double count a subspecies and a species.