Bishop Museum holds more than 24 million natural history specimens — the largest collection in the Pacific. These collections, built over more than a century, are actively used by researchers working on taxonomy, conservation, and ecosystem monitoring across the Hawaiian Islands.
Community science platforms like iNaturalist have become a meaningful complement to this work. When someone uploads a photograph of a plant, insect, bird, or fungus to iNaturalist, that observation enters a community identification process. Other users suggest identifications, and when enough identifiers agree, the observation reaches "research grade" — a quality threshold that makes it accessible to researchers and conservation databases worldwide.
How Bishop Museum Uses iNaturalist
Several Bishop Museum scientists participate in the iNaturalist identification process, contributing expertise in their areas of specialization. Bishop Museum Invasive Species Program Manager Kevin Faccenda incorporates iNaturalist data alongside herbarium specimens and field surveys in his Hawaii Grass Atlas, which documents the distribution of over 280 grass species across the islands.
Bishop Museum's Hawaii Aquatic Invasive Species program lists iNaturalist as an official public reporting tool for tracking introduced species — alongside the state's 643-PEST hotline.
For each of these rapid response events, public support was crucial in reporting initial observations.
The Broader Scientific Value
Globally, the scientific use of iNaturalist has grown tenfold in five years. Research published in BioScience documents how iNaturalist data is used to track biodiversity shifts, inform invasive species management, and contribute to species distribution models. More than 4,000 scientific papers have used iNaturalist data to date.
Community science doesn't replace institutional research, but it extends the reach of that research far beyond what any single team of scientists could accomplish alone.
Oʻahu · April 24–27
The City Nature Challenge is an annual global event where communities document biodiversity in population centers. During CNC 2026, Team Oʻahu documented over 1,800 observations and 600+ species in a single weekend. The identification period runs through May 10 — there's still time to help verify what was found.
If you've ever wondered what's growing in your yard, what bird is calling from the trees, or what that insect is on your lanai — the answer is worth recording. Your observation becomes part of a shared record, accessible to researchers, educators, and community members across the islands and beyond.
Start Observing on iNaturalist →