Hi all -
look here!
https://sebsnjaesnews.rutgers.edu/2023/06/in-its-10th-anniversary-year-personal-bioblitz-breaks-records/

Here are the results! (Note that the species count on the iNaturalist PROJECT HOME PAGE will change, because more species will be identified as we go along. The numbers below are the official numbers for this year).

Another record breaking year for the Personal Bioblitz project — together we saw over 10 000 species in 2.5 months and we had more participants than ever before.

Cumulative Results for the 2022 Project

Total observations: 64448 (We didn’t beat last year’s record of 70461, but we were close)

Total species: 10434 (We broke the all-time record with over 1000 species!)

Observers: 142 (New record, more and more people are joining in)

Who had the Most Observations?

1. Sara Rall (srall) from New Jersey, USA, 8324 observations (she did it AGAIN, third time as top observer! Sara is also the 2nd top iNaturalist observer in the world.)
2. Susan Hewitt (susanhewitt) from New York, USA, 4787 observations (invertebrate specialist, was in 4th place last year, and the 6th top observer in the world.)
3. Barbara L Wilson (sedgequeen) from Oregon, USA, 4286 observations (just a single observation below Susan Hewitt; Barbara came in third place last year too)
4. Jeff Mollenhauer (jmole) from New Jersey, USA, 3287 observations (a newcomer in our bioblitz, participating for the first time)
5. Nick Kleinschmidt (nick2524) from New Hampshire, USA, 3182 observations

Who observed the Most Species?

1. Jeff Mollenhauer (jmole) from New Jersey, USA, 1448 species (new participant, congratulations!)
2. Sarah Kelsey (botanylicious) from Georgia, USA, 1357 species (was in 5th place last year, new personal record!)
3. Annika Lindqvist (annikaml) from Texas, USA, 1272 species (despite seeing more species than last year when she won the top spot, that was not enough this year)
4. Nick Lambert from Australia, 1037 species (winner of our bioblitz 2021)
5. Bonnie Semmling (mertensia) from New Jersey, USA, 1017 species (new personal bioblitz record)

Which groups were reported the most?

1. Plants: 57% of observations; 47% of species, (yes, they are large and sit still!)
2. Insects: 17% of observations; 4% of species
3. Birds: 8% of observations; 6% of species
4. Fungi: 7% of observations; 7% of species
5. Molluscs: 2% of observations; 4% of species
6. Spiders: 2% of observations; 2% of species
7. Everything else had 1% or less of observations and species seen (mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish, protozoa, and ‘life’, which includes bacteria and viruses)

Most Frequently Observed Species (plants win!)

1. Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus), 439 observations
2. American Beech (Fagus grandifolia), 323 observations (was in 1st place last year)
3. Common Blue Violet (Viola sororia), 519 observations
4. Eastern Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), 269 observations
5. Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata), 236 observations

Some Fun Facts

1. Plants win again as the most observed taxonomic group, accounting for 57% of all observations (down from 62% last year) and 47% of all species. Plants are generally large, don’t fly, crawl, or run, so easier to see and photograph than other groups.
2. Only 29% of observations were from New Jersey, the home location of the Personal Bioblitz (up from last year’s 26%). 2906 species were reported from New Jersey.
3. 3,328 different people helped identify the species in this project. Thank you all! (Special call out to @sadawolk who identified thousands of observations.)
4. Of all observations 15% were introduced to the area where they were seen. This was also 10% of the species that were reported.
5. Over 52% of observations and 65% of species reported reached Research Grade quality on iNaturalist. These observations get added to the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) database automatically and are used for research globally.
   

Thank for your participation in the 2023 Personal Bioblitz!

Link to project page on iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/personal-bioblitz-2023

Lena Struwe and the Personal Bioblitz Committee
Contact e-mail: Lena.Struwe@rutgers.edu

Tonight at midnight (May 23) is the deadline to upload your observations from this year’s Personal Bioblitz. They need to have been observed between March 1 and May 15 this year. No captive or cultivated organisms allowed (except for humans, we consider them wild wherever they are).

Hint – make sure you not only upload your observations to iNaturalist, but you also have to manually ADD them to our project within iNaturalist. You can easily do batch edits of many observations at once to add to a project within the web version (not in the app). You can use the search function to find particular observations (places, dates, etc.)

1. Go to Edit Observations (top left under your profile icon)
2. Click Batch Edit button
3. Select the observations you want to add in the little checkboxes to the left of each observation in the list
4. Click Add to Project button on top

5. Select project from the drop down list (make sure you are a member of the project, otherwise it will not show up)
   ADD TO PERSONAL BIOBLITZ 2023, not any old bioblitzing projects 😊

6. iNaturalist will tell you if the observation was added. If the observation is in the project already, it will say so, so there is no risk of ‘double-adding’ any observations.

You may of course keep adding identifications for your observations after tonight’s deadline. We plan to download the data and calculate the winners on Saturday morning, May 27. So the more identified species you have before then, the better. 😊

It is also Carl Linnaeus birthday today.

Thanks!
Lena and the other curators from the Personal Bioblitz

Hi iNatters – and so, it is over, the last day to observe anything for this years Personal Bioblitz was May 15, yesterday. But I bet you have photos in your phones and cameras you still want to add, so we are giving you some extra days to get it all in order within our project.

Remember also to add the observations to the PROJECT on iNaturalist. Just uploading it to iNaturalist will not count, only if you also manually add it to the project.

Last day to add any observations from March 1-May 15 to the project: 23 May 2023 (Linnaeus birthday).

After May 23 we will summarize and check all observations, remove any observations that do not follow the rules (please check them for your own observations), and then we will announce the results and the winners as soon as we can (before June 1). I am looking for volunteers to help with the checking process, so please e-mail me if you want to help. It is easy.

And a reminder – no cultivated and captive organisms, unless they are humans. Naturalized organisms and all wild organisms are fine, wherever they are found.

Good luck and I am looking forward to see what you all have found!

Take care!
Lena

For all Rutgers alumni and retired faculty and staff!!! The Personal BioBlitz ends on May 15th. There is still time to register for the Rutgers Alumni BioBlitz Challenge. Fill out this form by May 15th to be considered. There will be 2 winners: 1 for most observations and 1 for most species' identifications. The winners will be determined by matching the iNaturalist usernames to their actual names on the form. Prizes will include, among other things, breakfast or lunch at Harvest Cafe on the George H. Cook campus. Winners will be contacted after the BioBlitz ends. Contact Brian McGonigle in the SEBS/NJAES Office of Alumni and Community Engagement with any questions - brian.mcgonigle@rutgers.edu; (848) 932-4215.

The url for the form is embedded in the text, but here it is also in case you need it: https://rutgers.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDbYPB1ffZGCRdI.

Hi all iNatters – a few important dates regarding the Personal Bioblitz 2023:

Last day to observe anything for this project: 15 May 2023.

Last day to add any observations from March 1-May 15 to the project: 23 May 2023 (Linnaeus birthday apparently).

After May 23 we will summarize and check all observations, remove any observations that do not follow the rules (please check them for your own observations), and then we will announce the results and the winners as soon as we can.

Take care!
Lena

ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT... on this year's Personal Bioblitz!

Time to get those newly growing and flying things into your cameras and phones and up on iNaturalist.

Time to report all those common everyday species that we see all the time but not notice much.

Time to upload to iNaturalist all the things you DID photograph for later upload, and never got around to do!
Currently user @jmole is in the lead with number of species: CONGRATULATIONS! I am especially excited that someone that joined iNaturalist during the pandemic is seeing so many new things.

And when it comes to observations, nobody is seems to be able to beat @srall - one of the most prolific observers in the world.

But, there is two weeks left, and I know I have a bunch of photos that need to be added with many many species... I think you do to. Keep iNatting, help each other with ID's and have fun!

Lena Struwe

Hi Bioblitzers!

In case you are not already aware, this weekend (Friday through Monday) is the annual City Nature Challenge here on iNaturalist, where cities around the world compete (or collaborate) to collect as many observations of as many different species made by as many different observers as possible.

Unlike the Personal Bioblitz, this is an automatic collection challenge; any observation you make on the correct date within a participating area will be automatically added to the project. You do not need to (and actually cannot) add it yourself.

For those of you in the Rutgers area, the 5 boroughs of New York City are competing as "New York" (and also competing among one another). Conference House Park in southern Staten Island is only 30 minutes by car from campus.

Philadelphia is also competing, including Burlington County in NJ (Rancocas St. Park is 45 minutes from campus by car) and Bucks County, PA (Washington Crossing St. park is 45 min away as well).

Here is the link to the overall project: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023
New York City CNC: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-new-york-city
and Philly CNC: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/city-nature-challenge-2023-greater-philadelphia-area

Have a great weekend!
Sara Rall