Personal Bioblitz 2024 Results
(extended version, corrected 1 June 2024)
March 1–May 15, 2024
The Personal Bioblitz 2024 is over, and the 11th edition of this annual project again saw strong engagement by nature enthusiasts around the world. We have new records in the most species seen by a single person, and over 50 000 observations reported by 99 participants. This report also introduces some new statistics, like animals versus plants (plants won, just barely), who saw the most unique species, and some geographic data. We also highlight some Rutgers students that participated. Congratulations to everyone who participated this year, and congratulations to all the top observers. And yes, American Robins and weeds of New Jersey win the top species (again).
Thank you! Lena Struwe, Rutgers University
Project website on iNaturalist Project website at Rutgers University
The Totals for 2024, All of Us Together
53,985 observations
9291 species seen
11550 scientific names (taxa) seen [includes observations identified only to genus or to subspecies, etc.]
99 participants [111 members joined the project, but not everyone reported something]
Most Observations Seen by an Observer, 2024
- srall (Sara Rall) – 9308 observations
- sedgequeen (Barbara L. Wilson) – 4866 observations
- sadawolk (Sandy Wolkenberg) – 4479 observations
- jmole (Jeff Mollenhauer) – 3873 observations
- annikaml (Annika Lindqvist) – 3428 observations
Most Species Seen by an Observer, 2024 – NEW RECORD!!!
(in parenthesis are the number of taxa = filtered observations) [note, these numbers will change as more observations are identified on iNaturalist]
- jmole (Jeff Mollenhauer) – 1780 species (1940)
- whiteoak (Alan Weakley) – 1579 species (1643)
- annikaml (Annika Lindqvist) – 1341 species (1489)
- srall (Sara Rall) – 1232 species (1319)
- nicklambert (Nick Lambert) – 1174 species (1358)
Rutgers Undergraduate Students, Most Species and Observations, 2024
- sarcasticsnail (Jamie Lubov) – 621 observations, 184 species, 333 taxa.
- willphill3 (William Phillips) – 385 observations, 147 species, 173 taxa.
- aprilisanapple (April Nguyen) – 317 observations, 131 species, 183 taxa.
- auchenorrhyncha (Dagger Bottomley) – 191 observations, 54 species, 143 taxa.
(known students or self-identified on iNaturalist)
Rutgers Graduate Students, Most Species and Observations, 2024
- mmccarthy98 (Max McCarthy) – 535 observations, 310 species, 367 taxa.
- yayabenzvi (Yahel Ben-Zvi) – 707 observations, 242 species, 371 taxa.
- jwgreenwood (Joanna Greenwood) – 123 observations, 86 species, 92 taxa.
- jvanetten (Julia Van Etten) – 143 observations, 8 species, 41 taxa.
(known students or self-identified on iNaturalist)
Most Observed Species
- American Robin (Turdus migratorius) – 236 observations
- White Clover (Trifolium repens) – 194 observations
- Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) – 187 observations
- Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) – 177 observations
- Ground Ivy (Glechoma hederacea) – 165 observations
Plants vs. Animals, 2024
- Plants – 4461 species (48% of all species observed)
- Animals – 4138 species (45% of all species observed)
Top Plant Observers by Number of Species (Unfiltered), 2024
- whiteoak (Alan Weakley) – 1248 species
- srall (Sara Rall) – 775
- nicklambert (Nick Lambert) – 771
- sedgequeen (Barbara L. Wilson) – 731
- jmole (Jeff Mollenhauer) – 595
Top Animal Observers by Number of Species (Unfiltered), 2024
- jmole (Jeff Mollenhauer) – 979 species
- annikaml (Annika Lindqvist) – 776
- nicklambert (Nick Lambert) – 385
- lenrely (Robert Russo) – 322
- srall (Sara Rall) – 319
New Jersey Stats by Year (Last 6 Years)
2024: 19208 observations; 2974 species; 67 observers
2023: 18995 observations; 2,876 species; 87 observers
2022: 18422 observations; 1973 species; 59 observers
2021: 21462 observations; 2034 species; 62 observers
2020: 8532 observations; 1366 species; 29 observers
2019: 6147 observations; 1024 species; 27 observers
Top Locations (States or Countries) by Number of Observations in 2024 Bioblitz
- New Jersey – 19208 observations; 2974 species
- New York – 6822 observations; 977 species
- Oregon – 5095 observations; 1189 species
- Texas – 4913 observations; 1931 species
- North Carolina – 4725 observations; 1591 species
- Australia – 3258 observations; 1357 species
- Costa Rica – 1755 observations; 674 species
- Switzerland – 918 observations; 626 species
- Georgia – 869 observations; 537 species
- California – 828 observations; 315 species
Species Seen Only Once by a Single Observer
54 observers (out of 99) saw a species not reported by anyone else. There were 5329 unique observations, which is c. 10% of all observations (= species only seen by one observer). About 46% of species were only seen once by a single observer. Observers with 10 or more unique species are included in this table.
| Login name | Username on iNaturalist | Number of unique observations (=species) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| nicklambert | Nick Lambert | 760 | Australian species mostly |
| annikaml | Annika Lindqvist | 512 | Texas mostly |
| jmole | Jeff Mollenhauer | 445 | Nearly all New Jersey species; many taxonomic groups |
| whiteoak | Alan Weakley | 441 | Well-traveled in US this year, but a lot from SE USA |
| jasonrgrant | Jason Grant | 366 | Central European species mostly |
| sedgequeen | Barbara L. Wilson | 335 | Pacific Northwest mostly |
| botanylicious | Sarah Kelsey | 232 | SE USA |
| lenrely | Robert Russo | 224 | |
| vilseskog | Lena Struwe | 184 | Costa Rican and New Jersey species, and many plankton |
| er1kksen | Erik Danielsen | 181 | |
| srall | Sara Rall | 159 | New Jersey focus |
| sarcasticsnail | Jamie Lubov | 142 | Costa Rican species especially |
| pffoster | Paul Foster | 105 | Costa Rican species especially |
| nataliebee | Natalie Lemanski | 91 | |
| bonnieeamick | 88 | ||
| mmccarthy98 | Max McCarthy | 82 | |
| willphill3 | William Phillips | 69 | Many reptiles |
| yayabenzvi | Yahel Ben-Zvi | 62 | |
| auchenorrhyncha | Dagger Bottomley | 54 | |
| jstippick | 48 | ||
| phusiologos | 43 | ||
| mgochfeld | Michael Gochfeld | 41 | |
| sphyrapicus | Jamie Simmons | 41 | |
| mertensia | Bonnie Semmling | 40 | |
| sadawolk | Sandy Wolkenberg | 36 | |
| waltwoman | Emma Waltman | 32 | |
| evahedstrom | Eva Hedström | 28 | Swedish species |
| polarblairx | Blair Young | 27 | Many bryophytes |
| victor35290 | Victor Lopez-Simpson | 24 | |
| aprilisanapple | April Nguyen | 21 | |
| geosesarma | 21 | ||
| josaxon | Joanna Saxon | 20 | |
| hb2000 | Herve' Barrier | 19 | |
| michaelnj | Michael Stanton | 19 | |
| tacocat1147 | 19 | ||
| aidanroberts | Aidan Roberts | 18 | |
| bobbar | 18 | ||
| echughes | Emily Hughes | 18 | |
| tesgeorge | George | 18 | |
| cholzapfel | Claus Holzapfel | 17 | |
| gwt2102 | 17 | ||
| jvanetten | Julia Van Etten | 16 | |
| quinnparker17 | 16 | ||
| kmole | 15 | ||
| loantaka | Lyla R. Meader | 14 | |
| p8kale | P R | 14 | |
| jenngribben | 12 | ||
| hadiak7 | 11 | ||
| macquafredda13 | M. Acquafredda | 10 |
Timeline of Observations, 2024
| year/month | new members | new observations | unique observers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-05 (May) | 2 | 12874 | 64 |
| 2024-04 (Apr) | 13 | 22943 | 81 |
| 2024-03 (Mar) | 59 | 18168 | 87 |
| 2024-02 (Feb) | 37 | 0 | 0 |
Thank you!
The leadership team consisted of Lena Struwe, Herve’ Barrier, Paul Foster, Jason R Grant, Annika Lindqvist, Jeff Mollenhauer, Sara Rall, Bonnie Semmling, and Blair Young.
This year's data was summarized by Jeff Mollenhauer, Paul Foster, and Lena Struwe.
Updates and corrections to this list can be sent to Lena Struwe, email: lena.struwe@rutgers.edu.
Version 1 June 2024