Researchers behind a new study evaluating the potential for photo observations from iNaturalist to answer species-specific behavior and ecological questions say the associated metadata offers a rich understanding of the subject matter at hand. “Each photo or video documents a subject’s interaction with its environment, habitat, conspecifics, predators, prey, etc., occurring at the moment of the recording,” says Katlyn Catron, Ph.D. “Instead of a dead specimen in a box with a (potentially very informative) label, you get a literal snapshot of that organism’s life and what was happening around it, which can be equally as informative as a traditional specimen.” (Photo by Lisa Benjamin via iNaturalist, CC BY-NC 4.0)