Repeating photos of the same species
Can you, or should you, make observations of the same species more than once?
Yes, and yes!
Recall that iNaturalist is often used to study phenology, which is the timing of the life stages of organisms. So for example, observations of bluebead lily in bud, then flower, then green fruit, then blue fruits, are encouraged (especially for those priority species being tracked by the AMC phenology studies).
Also, multiple observations of the same species can help a researcher learn about its geographic range and the types of habitats it uses.
This should not be confused with making multiple entries for the same species at the same time and location. These duplicate observations can happen if you are trying to submit more than one photo for an observation. While multiple photos per observation are highly encouraged, try to avoid making duplicate observations. To create one observation with multiple photos, look for the "+" sign by your first photo before you submit the observation, and click it to add more photos to the same observation. Only hit "save" when you've taken all of the photos for the observation.
