Cetacean citizen science: Using iNaturalist as a tool to study whales and dolphins

Cetaceans are commonly observed in open water or near shore habitats by citizen scientists, recreational boaters, tourists, and researchers. Sightings representing images with known time and location data may include an assortment of behaviors are readily visible, and can provide distribution data for future monitoring, validate beach strandings, or highlight localities where species occur. However, to date, there is no assessment across species of the presence, distribution, and behavior of North American cetaceans of the increasingly utilized citizen science application iNaturalist. To this end, this short communication presents distribution and temporal trends on presence, mortalities, and behaviors present in cetaceans within the USA. These findings highlight iNaturalist as a powerful tool and the potential application of this app for future cetacean research and environmental management.