Stephanie Manka (Schuttler), Ph.D. | Scientist

ALT A brown raptor takes a stone in its beak.

ALT The bird begins to swallow the stone whole, its beak wide open.

ALT The bird turns and looks directly into the camera as if it knows it's been perceived.

ALT A goose swims in a body of water. There is a large plastic skeleton looming behind it.

ALT Community science still finds new plant species every year, and the work is more important than ever.

ALT Each year, about 2,000–2,500 new-to-science plant species are described. But there are still at least tens of thousands more that remain undescribed.

ALT On iNaturalist (as of May 2025), there are over 99 million verifiable plant records from around the world, over 2.5 million people who shared those records, and over 173,000 species identified so far.

ALT Since 2022, at least 12 new plant species have been formally described using iNaturalist data. Sometimes the first clue comes from a user’s photo; other times, these records prompt experts to take a fresh look at historic botany collections.

ALT A large bird with a white body, featherless head, and long, dark beak stands against a background of foliage.

ALT A bird with a dark head, long beak and neck, white body, and dark wingtips flies overhead with its long legs stretched out.

ALT A fuzzy, pale yellow and black bee with large, deep-green eyes rests on a white, triangular-shaped flower against a leafy background.

ALT A fuzzy, pale yellow and black bee with large, deep-green eyes rests on a white, triangular-shaped flower against a leafy background.

ALT A bright red squid with a black eye floats in vibrant blue water.