International Biodiversity Championship 2020's Journal

Champions. All of you, are champions.

The contest has ended with our group of 140 people recording an astonishing 32,186 observations of more than 7,803 species. We were aided by 1,384 identifiers.

The International Biodiversity Championship was intended as a flag - something to point out the tremendous richness we are living with, and that the opportunity to enjoy that richness is with us every day, right outside your door.

Third place goes to 'Team Hellbenders' from North Carolina, USA- they have now become the USA National Champions.

After a very hard fought race, Team Russia 2020 came in the second place. Well done!

And the INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP goes to the GREAT SOUTHERN BIOBLITZ! with 1,409 species recorded at the end of competition. Orchids, sundews, kangaroos, and snails their list is a sweeping inventory of the ordinary and extraordinary of Southeast Australia.

In this competition we had intergenerational teams, all female teams, international teams, teams from many nations and walks of life. Please take the time to look through the observations and enjoy what you have all accomplished. New geographic records may emerge. Maybe even a new species. Your observations are of value, and the community created even more.

The email addresses associated with registration will receive information about prizes and an invitation to help organize next years competition.

You are all champions, and I hope you enjoyed yourselves as much as I did.

Best,

Sea

With less than 24hr left, the INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CHALLENGE teams have collected an astounding 24,000+ observations! Can the ‘Great Southern BioBlitz’ maintain a precarious lead over ‘Team Russia 2020”? Can ‘Nova Scotia OSC’ hold onto the bronze? Tune in tomorrow for the nailbiter finish!

The teams competing in the International Biodiversity Championships are doing an amazing job. All of them. How can we appreciate the information that is coming in? If you go to the observations map part of the leaderboard and look for 'search'. This will open up another box with options to restrict the taxa, or location, etc.

Go ahead and look at your favorites. Look at the frogs, or orchids. Look at the composite flowers, or the beetles. Hidden in these images and files are the biodiversity records that might be new for a region, or reveal an unexpected relationship. There could be a new species hiding in there, or the key to understanding an ecological puzzle.

More importantly, in the groups that are important to us as individuals, we can see the time and energy the teams of naturalists are spending out and about. In the sunlight or rain, the time interacting with both nature and the crazy/wonderful iNaturalist community. Doesn't it make you wonder what is just outside of your front door? Isn't it time you got outside yourself?

Day two of the International Biodiversity Championship and we have 12000+ observations of 4000+ species! The teams are doing an amazing job of finding and documenting the biodiversity around them. But who are the unsung heroes of the Championship? The Identifiers! We have had more than 700 people weigh in with helpful identifications and comments on the observations, and this is a chance for YOU to get involved! You can wade into the entire championship or back a certain team with your knowledge. Every species counts! #biodiversitychamps !

End of the first day of INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP 2020 and we have over 6000 observations, almost 3000 species and participants all over the world! The 'Great Southern Bioblitz' came out of Australia swinging with 'Team Russia 2020', 'TULSCOW Russian Girls', 'Nova Scotia - Our seaboard coast', and 'Team Hellbender' chasing right after.

The 'Mixed Mesophytics' the US National Champions of 2019 are in the mix as well- how will they do against a global field?

We are thrilled to have representation of some of the mega-diverse locations on the planet, with 'Peruvian piguichos' 'Peruvian Psittacaras', 'LATAM iNat Team', 'Biodiversion Riberalta', 'Iwak Kotes' on the island of Java, and 'Zimboblitz' in Zimbabwe all playing.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring!

Teams from Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Peru, Russia, USA, and Zimbabwe are all taking part in the INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP 2020! Follow along on your social media with the tag #biodiversitychamps !

As the anticipation builds for the INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY CHAMPIONSHIP 2020, teams from all over the globe are lining up! Pitfall traps and butterfly nets, plant presses and binoculars getting ready for a world class bioblitz!

It's not too late to sign up. Prizes this year include swag and subscriptions to ESA journals, T-shirts from code5design.net, and anything else we can round up!

We are doing this for fun and as outreach- we will be breathlessly broadcasting observations and pitfalls throughout the competition to the Ecological Society of America meetings, "The Naturalists" group on Facebook and beyond. Look for the hashtag "#biodiversitychamps" in your social media.