Martha’s Vineyard iNaturalist Projects

Martha's Vineyard Atlas of Life

This MVAL “collection project” pulls in all observations from Martha’s Vineyard, including Chappaquiddick, and from waters immediately around the islands. This project is the centerpiece of the MVAL and is the source of much of the data included on this website.

Martha's Vineyard Bioblitzes

An MVAL “umbrella project” that pulls together results from all the bioblitzes we’ve conducted. View the overall contribution these events have made to studying Vineyard biodiversity; clink on particular bioblitz projects to explore the results from each event.

Birds of Martha's Vineyard

Managed by the very active iNat user naughty_by_agriculture, this “collection project ” currently holds almost 2,900 bird observations from the island.

Massachusetts Audubon's Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Created and managed by the Massachusetts Audubon Society, this “collection project” pulls together observations from this much-loved Vineyard wildlife sanctuary. More than 1,000 observations can be viewed here.

BiodiversityWorks HQ Biodiversity Survey

A “traditional project” containing observations from the BiodiversityWorks headquarters. We own about three acres with pine/oak woodland surrounding our office building. Staff and visitors have contributed more than 800 observations representing more than 350 species.

Sengekontacket Pond, Martha's Vineyard

A cooperation between the MVAL and the Friends of Sengekontacket, this “collection project” gathers observations from the waters and shorelines of the island’s most accessible and most heavily used salt pond.

Amphibians and Reptiles of Martha's Vineyard

Another project created by prolific iNatter naughty_by_agriculture, this “collection project” currently contains about 400 reptile and amphibian observations.

Mammals of Martha's Vineyard

Another naughty_by_agriculture creation, this project pulls together mammal observations from the Island. It currently holds more than 400 observations representing 24 species.

Martha's Vineyard Invasive Plant Atlas

An MVAL project to track the distribution of invasive plants. Currently, 16 species of established or emergent invasives are tracked by this “collection project.”

Martha's Vineyard Landscape Connectivity: Road Kill

This MVAL “traditional project” was formed to collect locations at which animals, especially reptiles and amphibians, are killed by cars on Martha’s Vineyard. Over time, we hope results will point to places where animals are especially vulnerable to road kill, perhaps suggesting strategies to reduce the carnage. Consider adding your own observations to this “traditional project.” Warning: contains images of road-killed animals.

BJFFF Farm Pollinators

This “umbrella project” unites observations from two projects being used to study pollinators on Vineyard farms. In conjunction with the Betsy and Jesse Fink Family Foundation (BJFFF) and eight island farms, the MVAL has been collecting observations of insects visiting flowers on farms, and in specially planted experimental plots, for two field seasons.This umbrella project contains more than 1,400 observations, along with links to the two projects being used for the study.

A Selection of Martha’s Vineyard iNaturalist Projects

The Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life is by no means the only Vineyard entity that is using the iNaturalist platform. Other organizations and even individuals have established projects to study places or taxonomic groups of particular interest. Some of these are so-called “collection projects,” automatically aggregating all iNat observations that meet specified criteria (e.g., time frame, location, or taxonomic group). Others are “traditional projects,” to which appropriate observations must be added manually, either by the observer or by the project owners. In either case, these projects are a valuable resource to anyone interested in the Vineyard’s biodiversity. “Umbrella projects” combine the results of multiple projects.

All these projects represent ready-made selections of observations from which a viewer can learn what species have been documented in iNaturalist and how observations of those species are distributed around the island and around the calendar. Note that iNaturalist observations can appear in multiple projects, with no limit – so many individual observations will be part of more than one of the projects we list here.

Unless specified in the project’s description, these projects are not managed by BiodiversityWorks or the Martha’s Vineyard Atlas of Life. But we feel they’re potentially useful to Vineyard naturalists, so we’re posting links to some of the projects we think will be most valuable. Click the buttons associated with paragraphs in the sidebar to the left to visit these projects, read who has organized them and for what purpose, and explore the sightings that are collected there.