Frequently asked questions

Here we've listed solutions to common issues and questions.

Is my sensitive sighting hidden on NatureMapr?

Yes, all unverified sightings are suppressed by default until verified as a non-sensitive record.

Why is the location of my sensitive sighting showing on the ALA?

If a sighting of a non-sensitive species is verified on NatureMapr and the "suppress location from public view" checkbox has not been selected, the sighting is considered non-sensitive.

The next time the ALA refreshes NatureMapr data, this sighting would be included in the data exchange as we send all non-sensitive sightings to the ALA.

However, if the record owner later decides to select the "suppress location from public view" checkbox, these changes will not be reflected at the ALA until the next data refresh occurs (monthly).

Cannot upload sightings on the NatureMapr data collector app

If you see the following error message when attempting to upload sightings from the NatureMapr data collector app:

Possible cause 1 - insufficient upload speed

We recommend 5Mbps or greater for making uploads to NatureMapr, you can check your internet connection speed using this speed test.

If your UPLOAD speed is lower than 5Mbps, you will need to find an alternative wifi connection or area with stronger mobile reception in order to successfully upload your sightings.

Possible cause 2 - known issue

A known issue may impact some users who have been logged into the app for some time and have recently updated to the latest version of the app.

As a workaround, please log out of the NatureMapr data collector mobile app, then log back in again before re-attempting to upload your sightings.

Cannot find a species

When uploading a sighting via the website or reviewing an unidentified sighting (moderator only) you may find that the species you are after does not exisit on NatureMapr.

On the 'Add a sighting' page you must have narrowed-down your search to a level 3 or 4 category (taxanomic rank), if you cannot find the species of interest in the 'local species' list select the 'Can't find it' button which will open the 'global species' list and if this does not contain the species of interest select the 'Still can't find it' button which will enable you to enter the scientific name of the species you believe you have photographed.

If a moderator agrees with your classification they can than select 'Create species' from their 'Moderator actions'. This will create a page for that species and subsequent sightings will appear there.

My photo(s) are missing their geodata (photo location)

To ensure that your photo contains the appropriate geodata upload them to this EXIF viewer.

The locations' of my sightings recorded with the NatureMapr app are not accurate

NatureMapr attempts to resolve the most accurate location information as possible from your device.

This information is primarily provided by the GPS sensor in your device, but at times when your GPS sensor is unable to provide an accurate location (such as when your location may be partially obscured by a mountain or a deep canyon), it can look to other sources to determine the most accurate location information available at the time.

In such scenarios, your device may provide the NatureMapr app with a location that has reduced precision and in the worst case, may be up to a couple of hundred metres away from the true location. If this occurs, we encourage you to manually correct the location of the affected record by using the EDIT button on the affected record's sighting details page.

If you are repeatedly having issues on an Android device, please see this article: What to do when GPS is not working properly on Samsung device?

If you have followed the above instructions and are still experiencing ongoing issues, the problem may be an unreliable GPS sensor in your device hardware.

You can also try to troubleshoot the GPS sensor on your device: 11 methods to fix Android GPS not working.

How to verify a record by a herbarium or collection institution

Note: Only moderators of the given plant category have access to this function.
Scroll to 'Identify this sighting' below photo.
Choose the categories that the sighting best fits, for example 'Plants' and then 'Wattles.' This step also applies if you manually enter the scientific name.
If you cannot find the species in the 'Select a local species..' dropdown menu select 'Can't find it' button.
From the 'Select a global species..' dropdown menu, select the species that the sighting best fits.
The 'Verify by' button will appear, select it, enter details and verify.

How do I cite NatureMapr in the media or in research papers?

On the sighting page of interest, click the 'Request use of media' button to formally request the original author's permission.

If the author approves your request, images can be cited in the following format:

User: username, NatureMapr

User's full name, NatureMapr

How to create a collection

Still having issues?

If you're still experiencing issues please contact us.