SPECIESSNAPIT & MAPITHelp map & conserve the species of Great Smoky Mountains National Park!

Photo: Dan Mele

Learning objectives

Atlas of the

Smokies

Species SnapIt & MapIt

Outline• Smokies ATBI project

• Atlas of the Smokies

• Species SnapIt & MapIt

• Crash course in iNaturalist

• Recap

• iNaturalisting in the wild

Nonprofit park partners

Mission

Discovering,understanding& conserving

biological diversity

Mission

• Research

• Conservation

• Education

Located in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Smokies: rich in biodiversity

Flagship project

All

Taxa

Biodiversity

Inventory

Smokies ATBI

• An intensive survey of all biodiversity

• Integration of science, conservation, stewardship, and education

• Partnership of scientists, government agencies, research institutions, volunteers, educators

Smokies ATBI• What species are there?

• Where are they distributed?

• How common or rare are they?

• What do they interact with each other?

By the numbers: Species of the Smokies

20,203NUMBER OF SPECIESCURRENTLY KNOWN

TO GREAT SMOKYMOUNTAINS NP

9605

Species knownto park pre-ATBI

1021

9577

New-to-science species discovered by ATBI

New species recordsdiscovered by ATBI

60-80KESTIMATED SPECIES LIVING IN

GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NP

21YEARS THAT ATBIHAS BEEN ACTIVE

Updated November 2019

Purvis & Hector 2000 Nature

Biodiversity, worldwide

Smokies ATBI

Photo: Dan Mele

Chris Goforth

Matt Muir

Assassin bugs (Reduviidae)

Parasitic wasps (Micro-Hymenoptera)

Fruit flies (Tephritidae) & others

Plant bugs (Miridae)

Smokies ATBI: understudied groups

Atlas of the

Smokies

Species Mapper EnviroMapper

NPS video explaining Atlas of the Smokies

• https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=B4C11937-A079-7BD4-E85FB8BB80F0EBEF

Live demo of Atlas of the Smokies

• https://maps.nps.gov/species/

Demo Species Mapper & Enviromapper in browser

Species SnapIt & MapIt

More species to map• Need 30+ observations to map

a species

• Must be geographically distinct

• More observations = greater accuracy

• Need observations for the unmapped species

Mapped in Atlas of the Smokies (884 species)

Not mapped

Species SnapIt & MapIt: Crowdsourcing species observations

Find certain species inthe Park1 Snap photos & submit

observations to iNaturalist2 Species get added toAtlas of the Smokies3

Species SnapIt & MapIt

iNaturalist Guide: Species SnapIt & MapIt Priorities

What is iNaturalist?

• Phone app (Android or Apple iOS)

• Website: inaturalist.org

• Citizen science platform

• Explore your local biodiversity

• Identify organisms with AI

• Submit observations of species

What species to look for?iNaturalist > Guides > Species SnapIt & MapIt Priorities

• 92 focus species

• Birds

• Amphibians

• Insects

• Plants

• Others

• Downloadable

iNaturalist Guide: Species SnapIt & MapIt PrioritiesLittle brown jugHexastylis arifolia

Orange-fringed orchidPlatanthera ciliaris

Crane-fly orchidTipularia discolor

Fraser’s sedgeCarex fraseriana

Bowman’s rootGillenia trifoliata

Devil’s bitChamaelirium luteum

Putty rootAplectrum hyemale

GalaxGalax urceolata

Canadian wild gingerAsarum canadense

Carolina horsenettleSolanum carolinense

Great blue heronArdea herodias

Eastern fence lizardSceloporus undulatus

Pleasing fungus beetleMegalodacne heros

“complete” with 10+ obs(19 species)

no obs(38)

in progress(35)

Where to look?• Observe anywhere

within Park

• Take a hike!

• Focus: NC side of Park

• Focus: away from Visitor Centers

• Note: cell coverage limited in Park

TENNESSEE

NORTH CAROLINA Visitor Centers

Leave no trace principles1) Plan ahead & prepare

2) Travel & camp on durable surfaces (stay on trails)

3) Dispose of waste properly

4) Leave what you find (take only photographs)

5) Minimize campfire impacts

6) Respect wildlife (stay 50 yards away)

7) Be considerate of other visitors

LNT.org

Frames taken from iNaturalist video at https://vimeo.com/162581545

A crash course

*Needs data signal! Won’t work in Park

*Needs data signal! Won’t work in Park

*Add multiple photosof your subject

*Enable location services on your device

*Needs data signal! Refresh afterwards

iNaturalist (https://vimeo.com/162581545)

Observation tips: location sharingEnable location services on your phone (in Settings)

Set phone to Airplane Mode while in park (save battery)

Observation tips: multiple photos

Small things: show different angles Plants: show different parts

Stay tuned for updatesWebpage: https://dlia.org/snapit-mapit/

Project on iNaturalist: Discover Life in America ATBI

Let’s practice iNaturalist!

TIPS

• Enable location services

• Take focused, full-frame photos

• Add multiple photos

• Try the What did you see? feature

1) Download iNaturalist & register

2) Find our Guide (Guides > search “snapit”)

3) Download it to your phone (menu > Download for offline use)optional, it’s 40 MB

4) Make at least 2 observations in iNaturalist

5) “Join” our iNaturalist Project

HELPFUL INFO

GUIDE: Species SnapIt & MapIt Priorities

PROJECT: Discover Life in America ATBI

WIFI (XXX): password XXX

Recap• Check iNaturalist Guide (Species SnapIt & MapIt Priorities)

• Take a hike in the Park!

• Report what you see to iNaturalist

• Follow updates at:

• Discover Life in America ATBI (iNaturalist Project)

• DLIA website: dlia.org/snapit-mapit