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TOOLS AND TECHNOLOGY
Where Are the Herps?
HERPMAPPER TAKES CITIZEN SCIENCE TO THE NEXT LEVEL
By Christopher E. Smith and Vanessa R. Lane
Reptiles and amphibians have intrigued
humanity since the beginning of written history.
Tales of dragons, serpents and other
mystical beasts such as the Japanese kappa are
rooted in the real and sometimes bizarre and fascinating
forms known as herpetofauna. Even today,
reptiles and amphibians — or more simply “herps”
— continue to intrigue scientists and the general
population alike.
These enthusiasts often participate in herpetological
clubs or societies that encourage members of
all skill levels to search for reptiles and amphibians
in the wild. Known as “herpers,” they frequently
spend time in the field looking for reptiles and
amphibians and recording their observations, often
in areas where documentation of species may be
scarce or even lacking. Other people may casually
observe amphibians and reptiles in the course of
their outdoor activities and become curious about
these creatures. Much like birdwatchers who report
their observations to centralized databases such
as eBird, these citizen scientists can help provide
valuable records of herp occurrence, rarity and
distribution — even for species that are difficult to
find. Collectively, their observations provide one of
the most basic needs of conservation and research
organizations: access to high-quality data on species
occurrence.
Record it, share it
To capture these observations, a small, volunteer
group formed the global HerpMapper Project. Its
site, www.HerpMapper.com — which provides a
user-friendly interface for citizen scientists and biologists
to record and share herp observations — was
launched in September 2013. Although
other important herpetofaunal databases
exist, the volunteer-run HerpMapper
offers a more simplified and interactive
approach to sharing data with conservation
professionals. Users must first
create an account so that their recorded
observations can be added to the
centralized database. Account holders,
who retain access to all the records they
create, can then create records of their
observations via a web browser or in
real-time using a mobile device application
called Mobile Mapper.
To encourage submissions, the project
founders designed HerpMapper to be
engaging and easy for people of any
skill level to record and share their observations.
The website also helps users
keep track of their herpetofaunal sightings
or store data for scientific research.
Credit: Mike Pingleton
HerpMapper project administrators Donald Becker (left) and Christopher Smith (right) measure an eastern
indigo snake (Drymarchon couperi ) during a field visit with The Orianne Society in Georgia. The Orianne Society is
one of over 45 HerpMapper Partners that use records, such as this snake observation collected in the database,
to better understand species distributions and inform conservation activities.
HerpMapper has a number of interactive
tools. For example, users can easily
display their own data points in Google
Earth. The site also includes a profile
34 The Wildlife Professional, March/April 2017 © The Wildlife Society