Carolyn Copper - Photographer
Copper Range LLC
Connecting you with nature
Conservation Photography – Would You Know if You're Photographing Threatened Species?
I’m a photographer because I love and treasure nature. I understand it’s importance to the global health, survival, and well-being of our human species and the biodiversity of our planet. I’m committed to connecting others to the scenes, places, and moments I capture because they tell the story of what makes our places complete, what dwells among us, what’s relevant to our well-being, and what’s worthy of protecting. I also like creating beautiful things.
In 2020 I joined iNaturalist, a joint initiative of the California Academy of Sciences and the National Geographic Society. On iNaturalist, I upload my photographs of species that are unique encounters for me, or species I recognize as unique or out of the ordinary for the location I’m visiting. iNaturalist is a massive online platform for recording and identifying observations of plant or animal species anywhere in the world. Users upload a photo or sound recording and propose an identification of what they’ve recorded, or they receive suggestions from community members. As of January 2022, iNaturalist contained over 88 million observations of over 340,000 species contributed by over 2 million observers world-wide -- and it just keeps growing.
You don’t need a professional camera to be in the iNaturalist community. iNaturalist allows anyone with a phone or camera and an Internet connection to upload and identify photos of plants and animals anywhere in the world. There are guidelines for using iNaturalist, and if you’re new to this platform, head over to their website and learn all about it. One of the goals of iNaturalist is to generate scientifically valuable biodiversity data from the personal encounters we have with the natural world. There’s been good progress on that goal as information gleaned from the platform has contributed to more than 1,400 studies. One of the most common research uses of iNaturalist data is the development of species distribution models.
Since joining in 2020, I’ve added 160 observations covering 118 species, primarily birds. One of the features of iNaturalist that adds incredible depth and significance to observations is the system may provide the conservation status (extinction or extirpation risk) of the species you identified. Let’s define extinct and extirpated before going further because these words will come up again. Extinct means the end of a species; when a species dies out completely its classified as extinct. Extirpated means a local extinction; when a species no longer exists in a particular area, but still exists elsewhere.
Of the 118 species photos I’ve contributed to iNaturalist, about 20 (mostly birds) have some type of imperiled conservation status association with them. In other words, these species were identified as extinct, extirpated, critically imperiled, imperiled or vulnerable in the regions I photographed them. That’s significant. It means that while you think you’re seeing just another cool hawk fly by, when you snap a picture and upload it into iNaturalist you may discover, and help others discover, a rarely seen and threatened species. These are valuable observations that can be used by scientists and researchers to support our understanding of species distribution and further species conservation research and intervention.
iNaturalist conservation status rankings derive from NatureServe and/or the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature’s) Red List. Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus and plant species and is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. NatureServe uses a suite of factors to assess the conservation status (extinction or extirpation risk) of species of plants, animals, and fungi, as well as the conservation status (elimination or extirpation risk) of ecosystems. Conservation status is summarized as a series of ranks (letter and number codes) from critically imperiled to secure, and these ranks may be derived at global, national, or sub-national levels.
Below I’ve summarized several of my iNaturalist wildlife observations that had some type of imperiled conservation status. Remember that conservation status codes may be location-dependent. In other words, a bird that’s doing well in Montana may be extirpated (locally extinct) in Ohio.
Snowy Owl
Location of photograph: Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Conservation Status is IUCN Vulnerable. This means the best available evidence indicates that snowy owls are facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
Bald Eagle
Location of photograph: Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Conservation Status is NatureServe S2N/SXB. This means (1) non-breeding bald eagle populations are Imperiled, or at high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences, steep declines, severe threats, or other factors (S2N), and (2) breeding populations of bald eagles are Presumed Extirpated (SXB). This means breeding age eagles are believed to be extirpated from the jurisdiction; not located despite intensive searches of historical sites and other appropriate habitat, and virtually no likelihood that it will be rediscovered. This is equivalent to “Regionally Extinct” in IUCN Red List terminology.
Merlin
Location of photograph: North central Ohio/Lake Erie Region
Conservation Status NatureServe SX. This means Merlins are presumed extirpated, or locally extinct. The species is not located despite intensive searches of historical sites and other appropriate habitat, and virtually no likelihood that it will be rediscovered. Extirpated species become less resilient to environmental, ecological and biological changes, making them more susceptible to extinction.
Merlin
Location of photograph: Northern Maryland
Conservation Status NatureServe S1N. This means non-breeding populations are critically imperiled, or at very high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences, very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.
Merlin
Location of photograph: Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Conservation Status NatureServe S1N. This means non-breeding populations are critically imperiled, or at very high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences, very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.
Red-Shouldered Hawk
Location of photograph: Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Conservation Status NatureServe S2B/S3N. This means (1) breeding age populations are imperiled or at high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences, steep declines, severe threats, or other factors (S2B), and (2) non-breeding populations are vulnerable or at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors (S3N).
Cooper’s Hawk
Location of photograph: Washington, DC (District of Columbia)
Conservation Status NatureServe S3N/SHB. This means (1) non-breeding Cooper’s Hawk populations are Vulnerable, or at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors (S3N), and (2) breeding age populations are possibly extirpated. They are known from only historical records but still some hope of rediscovery. There is evidence that the species or ecosystem may no longer be present in the jurisdiction, but not enough to state this with certainty (SHB). Examples of such evidence include (a) that a species has not been documented in approximately 20-40 years despite some searching and/or some evidence of significant habitat loss or degradation; (b) that a species or ecosystem has been searched for unsuccessfully, but not thoroughly enough to presume that it is no longer present in the jurisdiction.
American Coot
Location of photograph: Southern Maryland
Conservation Status is NatureServe S3N - Vulnerable. This means non-breeding populations are at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors.
Long-Tailed Duck (female pictured; conservation status applies to both males and females)
Location of photograph: Southern Maryland
Conservation Status ICUN Vulnerable. This means the species has a very high risk of extinction as a result of rapid population declines of 30 to more than 50 percent over the previous 10 years (or three generations), a current population size of fewer than 1,000 individuals, or other factors.
Pie-billed Grebe
Location of photograph: Northern Virginia
Conservation Status NatureServe S1S2B/S3N. This means (1) breeding populations are imperiled to critically imperiled or at high to very high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences, very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors (S1S2B), and (2) non-breeding populations are vulnerable or at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors (S3N).
Black-crowned Night Heron
Location of photograph: Northern Virginia
Conservation Status NatureServe S3B/S4N. This means (1) breeding populations are vulnerable or at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors (S3B), and (2) non-breeding populations are apparently secure, or at a fairly low risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences, but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors (S4N).
American Black Duck
Location of photograph: Northwestern Ohio/Lake Erie Region
Conservation Status NatureServe S2. This means all populations are imperiled, or are at high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences, steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.
Black Scoter
Location of photograph: Southern Maryland
Conservation Status ICUN Red List NT. This means the Black Scoter is a Near Threatened species, and does not yet qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.
Hooded Merganser
Location of photograph: Northwestern Ohio/Lake Erie Region
Conservation Status NatureServe S2. This means all populations are imperiled, or are at high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences, steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.
Hooded Merganser
Location of photograph: Northern Maryland
Conservation Status NatureServe S1B. This means breeding populations are critically imperiled or are at very high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to very restricted range, very few populations or occurrences, very steep declines, severe threats, or other factors.
Prothonotary Warbler
Location of photograph: Northwestern Ohio/Lake Erie Region
Conservation Status NatureServe S3. This means all populations are vulnerable, or are at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors.
Pine Warbler
Location of photograph: Northeastern West Virginia
Conservation Status NatureServe S2N/S4B. This means non-breeding populations are imperiled, or at high risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to restricted range, few populations or occurrences, steep declines, severe threats, or other factors (S2N), and (2) breeding populations are apparently secure, or at a fairly low risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences, but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors (S4B).
Hermit Thrush
Location of photograph: Southern Maryland
Conservation Status NatureServe S3S4B/S4N. This means (1) breeding populations range from vulnerable to apparently secure, where vulnerable means at moderate risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to a fairly restricted range, relatively few populations or occurrences, recent and widespread declines, threats, or other factors and apparently secure means at a fairly low risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences, but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors (S3S4B), and (2) non-breeding populations are apparently secure, or at a fairly low risk of extirpation in the jurisdiction due to an extensive range and/or many populations or occurrences, but with possible cause for some concern as a result of local recent declines, threats, or other factors (S4N).
If you’re not already involved in iNaturalist I hope you’ll visit and see how easy it is to make observations and how valuable they can be. Even though a species is common in one region, it could be extinct or imperiled in others, which is why it's important to record observations, in all areas you visit. That "common" red-shouldered hawk you see, may in fact be threatened in the region. Interested in viewing my iNaturalist observations? Once you’re on the website, search for my name, Carolyn Copper. I’m a monthly supporter of iNaturalist, helping to support its growth and the discovery of biodiversity.
Sources and More Information:
https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/scientists-conduct-large-scale-study-of-inaturalist-users/
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/citizen-science-increasing-pandemic-insects
https://theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/articles/10.5334/cstp.439/
https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/what%252Bis%252Bit
https://help.natureserve.org/biotics/content/Methodology/NatureServeConservationStatusFactors.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NatureServe_conservation_status
https://explorer.natureserve.org/AboutTheData/Statuses
https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/categories-and-criteria
