iNaturalist project
Turn what you see underwater into science
Rubelis Beyond Divers is an open citizen-science project on iNaturalist that collects the marine life divers observe underwater. Every observation practises patient looking and adds to the record of life in the sea.
- Observations
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- Species
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- Observers
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- This month
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Latest observations
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Most observed species
Where observations were made
Alongside Camera-Free Diving
On a camera-free dive, you write what you saw in a single sentence. When you dive with a camera, you photograph what you saw and give it to science. Both practise the same habit: looking without hurrying. Never chase, touch or change an animal's behaviour for a photo.
How do I take part?
Create an iNaturalist account
iNaturalist is free. You can sign up on the website or in the iOS and Android app.
Join the project
Press "Join" on the project page. The project only collects observations from its members; observations you add without joining do not appear in it.
Upload your observation
Upload it with your photo, date and location. Only observations made underwater or at the shoreline belong in this project.
Let the community help with the ID
If you do not know the species, choose a broad group (for example "fishes"). The iNaturalist community helps with identification. For beginners, iNaturalist's Seek app is a good start.
Add your iNaturalist username to your account to see your own observation count there. Go to my account
Observation ethics
- Never touch, move or feed any animal.
- Keep your distance; never chase an animal for a photo.
- Stop taking photos wherever you lose control of your buoyancy.
- If you do not want to share the exact location of a sensitive species, set the location to "private" or "obscured" on iNaturalist.
Contribution to science
Observations confirmed by the community as "research grade" are, where their licence allows, shared with global biodiversity databases such as GBIF (the Global Biodiversity Information Facility) and can be used by researchers.
The observations on this page come from the Rubelis Beyond Divers project on iNaturalist and are updated hourly. Photos belong to their owners; each photo is credited to its owner and links to the observation on iNaturalist.