Species Identification

Species Identification Apps

• Video: iPhone Photos App [1:58]

• Video: Google Lens  [0:46]

• Video: iNaturalist Phone App [4:22]

• Video: iNaturalist Computer App 

Field trip

• Aliso Canyon iNaturalist Project - Aliso Canyon

• The Cross-Cutting Concepts in the Field

  • •  Patterns

    •  Cause and effect: 

    • Scale, proportion, and quantity. 

    • Systems and system models. 

    • Energy and matter: Flows, cycles, and conservation. 

    • Structure and function. 

    • Stability and change. 

• Norm's Observations 

Practice with iNaturalist

• Sample photos

Postulating Cause & Effect in Species Distribution

• Habitat Reduction / Desruction:  Puma concolor (Mountain lion) vs Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) - Explain the distribution differences in the Los Angeles basin.

• Urbanization:   Quercus agrifolia (Coast Live Oak) vs. Quercus engelmannii (Pasadena Oak)    - Why is the Pasadena Oak on the endangered list, but the Coast Live Oak is not?

• Elevation:  Quercus lobata (Valley Oak) vs. Quercus keloggii (Kelogg's Oak) - Compare and contrast the distribution of these two similar deciduous oak trees and hypothesize a reason for the different distributions.

• Seed dispersal: Traxacum (Common dandelion) vs. Pinus coulterii (Coulter pine).  Describe the distributions for these two species and speculate on a cause for the distribution differences. 

• Invasive species: Muhlenbergia rigens (Deer grass, native to California) vs. Ripgut brome (bromus diandrus, native to the Mediterranean).  Compare the native and current distribution of these species. 

• Mobility:  Anas platyrhynchos (Mallard duck) vs. Ursus americanus ssp. californiensis (California black bear).  Describe the geographic distribution of these animals and suggest reasons for the differences. 

• Seasonality:   Danaus plexippus  (Monarch butterfly) vs. Periplaneta americana  (American Cockroach).  Propose reasons for the difference in the seasonality of these insects.

• Endemic Species:  Urocyon littoralis (Island Fox)  vs. Aquila chrysaetos  (Golden Eagle).  Describe the ecological relationship of these organisms and their current distributions.