Observations

1. Go to iNaturalist.org and create an account (if you don’t have one yet).
2. Log in to iNaturalist.
3. In the search bar at the top, type “iSeahorse” and click on the iSeahorse icon to open the project page.
4. Click the “Join” button on the banner or in the top-right corner of the project page.
5. On the “Join Project” page, scroll to the “Other” You will see three options about sharing the exact location of your seahorse sightings.
   1. Please choose Option 2: “Yes, no matter who adds the observation to the project.” Exact locations are important for science and this option allows the project curator to add your seahorse sightings to iSeahorse in case you accidentally forget to select ‘Project iSeahorse’ when uploading your observations.
6. Click the “Join” button at the bottom of the page.
7. You are now a member of iSeahorse!

1. Go to https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/new?project_id=871 (bookmark this link) and upload your observation and related information there.
   OR (if the link above doesn’t work for you)
2. Click the “Upload” button (top right of iNaturalist) to add your seahorse photo.
3. After your observation is uploaded and submitted, view it.
4. Scroll down and find the Projects
5. From the drop-down menu, select iSeahorse to add your sighting to the project.
   • Important: Your observation will not be added automatically. You must add it manually.
6. Once it is added, you may see a survey Please complete it — your answers (e.g., depth, habitat) provide valuable scientific information!

• If you add a seahorse sighting before joining the iSeahorse project, we will only receive obscured coordinates (not the exact location).
• That’s why it’s important to join iSeahorse first, and be sure to select:

“Yes, no matter who adds the observation to the project”
under the section:
“Do you want to make your private/obscured observation coordinates visible to the project curators?”

This allows the project curator to see the full location and add your sighting with accurate data.

To make sure your seahorse sightings are accepted:

• Join the iSeahorse project by clicking “Join” on the project page
• Make sure the species is a seahorse (scientific name: Hippocampus)
• Include the location where you saw the seahorse (in the wild)
• Your observation must be either: “Research Grade” or “Needs ID”

Personal information

By registering for iNaturalist and iSeahorse, you agree to the iNaturalist Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which are also respected by iSeahorse. As iNaturalist is based in the United States of America, your personal information is stored and processed in iNaturalist databases located in the United States. By registering, you acknowledge and consent to the transfer, storage, and processing of your personal information (including your IP address) in the United States, where it is subject to U.S. privacy laws.

Questions regarding the collection of your personal information should be directed to iSeahorse.

iSeahorse does not request or collect sensitive personal information (e.g., government identification numbers, financial information, health data). Personal information associated with your iNaturalist account is handled under the iNaturalist Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and is not shared publicly by iSeahorse

Cookies

iSeahorse uses cookies to store (1) iNaturalist OAuth access tokens, and (2) iNaturalist/iSeahorse username. By using iSeahorse, you acknowledge that the information above may be compromised by any malicious software residing on your local computer. iSeahorse is therefore not responsible for any damages caused by malicious use of data stored locally on your machine.

Seahorse observations

By signing up for iNaturalist and iSeahorse you agree to the iNaturalist Terms of Use. In addition to these terms you also agree to the following terms as set out by iSeahorse.

By submitting your seahorse observations (“Observations”) to iSeahorse, you are making them available to Project Seahorse for research, education, conservation, and management purposes only, and not for commercial use.

Your Observations remain yours and you are free to make this information available to others. Licensing your content gives other people the legal right to use it without asking your permission if they stick to the terms of the license. You may select the license type you wish to associate with your Observations from within your iNaturalist user profile. However, by submitting your Observations to iSeahorse, you hereby grant Project Seahorse a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, display, and summarize your Observations for research, education, conservation, and management purposes in any media format and through any media channels. This license is perpetual and irrevocable.

Observations you submit to iSeahorse must not contain third party copyrighted material, or material that is subject to other third party proprietary rights, unless you have permission from the rightful owner of the material or you are otherwise legally entitled to post the material and to grant Project Seahorse all of the license rights granted herein.

Due to the commercial value of seahorses, we will only make some of your Observation details public. More sensitive information, such as the exact location of the seahorses, are not available through the iSeahorse interface – and are only accessible by the user that submitted the Observation and by Project Seahorse.

Your Observation data may be made available upon request, and at the discretion of Project Seahorse, to anyone for the purposes of research, education, conservation and management (this does not include Personal Information – see above, or Images – see below). Your Observation data may also be shared with other applications developed by the global biodiversity information community, such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility or FishBase Seahorse observation data is stored on iNaturalist databases in the United States of America, and archived daily.

iSeahorse may use aggregated, de-identified observation data for public reporting and scholarly publications focused on research, education, conservation, and management. When data are shared publicly, they will not include personally identifying information.

Seahorse population trends monitoring

iSeahorse population trends monitoring data is subject to the same terms and conditions as those of iSeahorse observation data.

Users are encouraged to submit data that has been collected outside the auspices of iSeahorse protocols. Upon Project Seahorse’s receipt of data of this type, it will be assessed and incorporated into the iSeahorse database. Users wishing to submit historic and non-iSeahorse datasets should contact info@projectseahorse.org for more information.

Photos and Videos

Your photographic and videographic images (“Images”) remain yours and you are free to make them available to others. Licensing your content gives other people the legal right to use it without asking your permission if they stick to the terms of the license. You may select the license type you wish to associate with your Images from within your user profile. By uploading Images to iSeahorse, you are representing that you own the Images or have permission from the rightful owner of the Images to upload them or you are otherwise legally entitled to upload the Images.

You may not submit fake or knowingly erroneous Observations to iSeahorse. You may not use iSeahorse for any unlawful purpose, or to infringe the rights of others on the site. You may not use iSeahorse for advertising or for promotion. You may not post comments or information that is offensive or objectionable. We do not guarantee or make any representations about the accuracy of comments posted on iSeahorse, and comments posted by users on iSeahorse do not reflect the opinions of Project Seahorse or its host institutions.

We reserve the right to remove any material posted on iSeahorse that we consider unsuitable for any reason, at any time. We also reserve the right to exclude anyone from using iSeahorse if they have posted material contrary to this Privacy and Use Agreement. If you see something on iSeahorse that is not acceptable, please report it immediately.

Participation in iSeahorse is voluntary and self-selected. By submitting observations or other contributions, you acknowledge and agree to these Terms and Conditions, including the use of aggregated, de-identified data for public reporting and publications, and the non-disclosure of personally identifying information. iSeahorse does not collect sensitive personal information.

You are welcome to use Observation data, figures and maps from iSeahorse only for your own, personal, non-commercial use, with credit given to iSeahorse as appropriate.

The Images uploaded by users to the site are owned by those users. You may use the Images to assist in identification of the seahorses and for other iSeahorse related purposes. You may not use any Images uploaded to iSeahorse for any non-iSeahorse related purpose unless the owner of the Images grants you that right.

iSeahorse observation data that has been made publically available by users can be download from the website as a csv file. This information may be used for the purposes of research and conservation only, and not for commercial purposes. This does not include any user’s personal information. For clarity, any datasets we release for download or public use will be aggregated and de-identified to protect privacy, and will exclude personally identifying information.

We may occasionally update or amend the iSeahorse Terms and Conditions. If we make changes, we will post them here and where they are substantial, send an email to all registered users notifying of the change.

iSeahorse and Project Seahorse are run by researchers at the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, Canada.

The Principal Investigator is Professor Amanda Vincent, Director and Co-founder of Project Seahorse, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, The University of British Columbia, Canada.

UBC BREB Ethics # H12-03277.

If you have any concerns or complaints about your rights as a research participant and/or your experiences while participating in this study, contact the Research Participant Complaint Line in the UBC Office of Research Ethics at 604-822-8598, or if long distance, email RSIL@ors.ubc.ca or call toll free 1-877-822-8598.