University of South Florida Biology 2 Lab Spring 2023

Welcome to our class project!

If you are new to iNaturalist, please be sure to check out the Getting Started Guide and the Help pages. These will walk you through some of the main features of the site and answer many of your questions. Be sure to also check out the iNaturalist Community Guidelines for information on what iNaturalist considers acceptable behavior on their site.

If you are ready to start observing, please keep the following guidelines in mind:

Being a Good Naturalist

It is very important that you do not disturb any wildlife. For your own safety and the safety of the organism, do not touch the organism you are observing. Be aware that some organism, such as threatened species, may be legally protected against harassment (including touching and picking up the organism). Other organism may harm you if touched (such as plants that can cause skin reactions like poison ivy). Some organisms may be provoked if you approach them or their offspring. Keep a safe distance from the organisms you are observing and be aware of your surroundings. Safety is a priority.

Do you recognize this plant? It is poison ivy!

Public

iNaturalist is a public site. Do not upload images that break iNaturalist Terms and Services or violate Copyright Laws. Do not take identifiable photos of yourself. It is ok to include your hands, feet, and clothing in your photos, but please do not include full photos of yourself or others in observations.

For example, it is ok to include your hand in a photograph. In this photo the naturalist carefully lifted up this sea grass for a better photo of the sea slug eggs.

Observe Wildlife

For this project avoid taking a photo of a captive, cultivated, domesticated, dead, and feral organism. Also, only observations within the state of Florida made since the beginning of this semester can be added to this project.

Take multiple, clear photos at different angles. The photo quality needs to be high enough that the organism can be identified.

Document key information including the time and date at which the observation was taken, the habitat in which your observation was made, visual characteristics of organism, and other important information (behavior, presence of a symbiont, etc.).

Wild sea slug Elysia papillosa from multiple angles.