Unpacking the power of bioblitz and bioblitzers for advancing biodiversity knowledge in the Amazon region

This study evaluates the outcomes of 15 bioblitz events conducted over three years in Sinop, Mato Grosso, Brazil. The bioblitz events engaged a heterogeneous audience, ranging from elementary school children to graduate students, as well as members of the general public not affiliated with educational institutions. These events occurred on the following dates: April 29, 2022 to May 2, 2022; July 30–31, 2022; October 28–31, 2022; March 12–13, 2024; March 26–27, 2024; April 2–3, 2024; April 9–10, 2024; April 26–29, 2024; September 20–23, 2024; October 1–7, 2024; October 8–14, 2024; October 15–21, 2024; October 22–24, 2024; October 28, 2024; and April 25–28, 2025. We used a formal request to the iNaturalist platform (https://www.inaturalist.org/) to compile observation data up to September 16, 2025 from Sinop. The dataset included records from both bioblitz events and independent observations (those observations not associated with bioblitz events). Observations were classified as either “bioblitz” or “independent” based on the subset metadata from the events. In order to understand whether bioblitzers' profiles influence patterns of participation and data contribution, we classified individuals primarily based on their educational level, grouping them into five categories: (1) educator, (2) elementary and middle school student, (3) general public (individuals not directly affiliated with educational institutions), (4) graduate student, and (5) undergraduate student.