Barrambin biodiversity data

On the 23rd of May 2026, 35 volunteers gathered for a “Barrambin Bioblitz” to learn about iNaturalist and collect biodiversity data in the park.

Let’s have a look at the data collected so far.

Barrambin Bioblitz impact

In 24 hours, we went from:

• 794 to 1026 observations (+232)
• 309 to 339 species (+30)
• 1443 to 1680 identifications (+237)
• 150 to 164 observers (+14)
• 8 to 17 project members (+9)

Project stats before the Bioblitz…

…and after.

But the effort didn’t stop on the 23rd of May: at the time of writing, there are 1069 observations in the project.

barr_obs$created_at <- as.Date(barr_obs$created_at)
library(dplyr)
cumulative <- barr_obs |> 
    mutate(rg = quality_grade == "research") |> 
    count(created_at, rg) |> 
    arrange(created_at) |> 
    group_by(rg) |> 
    mutate(cumulative_obs = cumsum(n)) |> 
    ungroup()
library(ggplot2)
theme_set(theme_bw())
ggplot(cumulative, aes(x = created_at, y = cumulative_obs, fill = rg)) +
    geom_vline(
    xintercept = as.Date("2026-05-23"),
    linetype = "dashed"
    ) +
    geom_area() +
    geom_point(x = max(barr_obs$created_at), y = nrow(barr_obs), inherit.aes = FALSE) +
    annotate("label", x = max(barr_obs$created_at) - 80, y = nrow(barr_obs),
    label = paste("Total:", nrow(barr_obs), "observations."), hjust = "right") +
    scale_fill_discrete(labels = c("Others", "Research")) +
    labs(
        x = "Date",
        y = "Cumulative observations",
        fill = "Quality grade")

Cumulative observations in project area. The dashed line denotes when the bioblitz occurred.

So what new species were added recently? Looking at observations that have a species-level ID, and including observations recorded during and after the Bioblitz, we added 45 to the list:

library(stringr)
species <- barr_obs |> 
    filter(taxon.rank == "species") |> 
    select(created_at, taxon.common_name.name, taxon.name, taxon.id) |> 
    # mark species that were seen after cutoff date but not before
    mutate(
        before = created_at < "2026-05-22",
        after = created_at >= "2026-05-22") |> 
    group_by(taxon.id) |> 
    mutate(only_after = !any(before) & any(after)) |> 
    ungroup()
# only keep the new ones, one row per species
new_species <- species |> 
    filter(only_after) |> 
    select(taxon.name, taxon.common_name.name, taxon.id) |> 
    unique() |> 
    # tidy up
    rename(
        scientific.name = taxon.name,
        common.name = taxon.common_name.name
        ) |> 
    mutate(common.name = str_to_sentence(common.name)) |> 
    arrange(scientific.name) |> 
    # construct link to iNat taxon
    mutate(taxon.id = paste0(
        "<a href='https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/",
        taxon.id,
        "'>",
        taxon.id,
        "</a>"))
# print table
library(gt)
new_species |> 
    tibble::rowid_to_column() |> 
    gt(rowname_col = "rowid") |> 
    fmt_markdown(taxon.id) # ro render HTML

Table 1: Species observed since the Bioblitz but not before. Note that not all identifications have necessarily reached a consensus.

	scientific.name	common.name	taxon.id
1	Albizia lebbeck	Lebbeck	60832
2	Angophora subvelutina	Broad-leaved apple	531489
3	Araucaria bidwillii	Bunya pine	136231
4	Austromyrtus dulcis	Midgen berry	429695
5	Banksia integrifolia	Coastal banksia	244884
6	Brachychiton australis	Broad-leaved bottletree	135372
7	Buckinghamia celsissima	Ivory curl tree	411170
8	Calochlaena dubia	Common ground fern	323953
9	Camponotus consobrinus	Banded sugar ant	201978
10	Chlorophyllum rhacodes	Shaggy parasol	56535
11	Codiaeum variegatum	Variegated croton	127387
12	Corymbia henryi	Large-leaved spotted gum	1023768
13	Corymbia intermedia	Pink bloodwood	334817
14	Delonix regia	Flamboyant	62839
15	Dianella caerulea	Blue flax-lily	53680
16	Dodonaea triquetra	Common hop bush	83633
17	Elaeocarpus grandis	Blue quandong	369964
18	Erythrina lysistemon	Common coral tree	119673
19	Erythrina vespertilio	Bat's wing coral tree	369714
20	Eucalyptus carnea	Broad-leaved white mahogany	538030
21	Eucalyptus cinerea	Argyle apple	162748
22	Eucalyptus cloeziana	Gympie messmate	1074794
23	Eucalyptus fibrosa	Red ironbark	323762
24	Eucalyptus melanophloia	NA	323757
25	Eucalyptus propinqua	Small-fruited grey gum	334073
26	Eucalyptus punctata	Grey gum	401758
27	Euphorbia hirta	Asthma plant	131560
28	Eustrephus latifolius	Wombat berry	334785
29	Ficus rubiginosa	Port jackson fig	199385
30	Flindersia schottiana	Cudgerie	192451
31	Fomitiporia robusta	Robust bracket	485958
32	Grevillea robusta	Silk oak	77302
33	Harpullia pendula	Black tulip	369494
34	Heteropoda jugulans	Jungle huntsman spider	369020
35	Lophostemon confertus	Brush box	135363
36	Macadamia integrifolia	Macadamia tree	287245
37	Melaleuca bracteata	Black tea-tree	346356
38	Melaleuca thymifolia	Thyme honey-myrtle	446704
39	Phoenix roebelenii	Pygmy date palm	204744
40	Polyrhachis aurea	NA	964525
41	Polyrhachis daemeli	Daemel's spiny ant	201995
42	Pteropus poliocephalus	Grey-headed flying-fox	40905
43	Rhytidoponera metallica	Green-head ant	201975
44	Stenocarpus sinuatus	Firewheel tree	83360
45	Tetragonula carbonaria	Charcoal stingless bee	475518

Keep in mind that the newly-spotted species listed above are not necessarily all confirmed with several identifications. Here are some other places to explore what has been recorded at Barrambin:

• The full list of taxa observed at this location, starting with the most commonly seen
• A list of all the “Research Grade” observations
• The project’s ‘Identify’ page, on which you can help refine the data by adding your own identifications

More biodiversity data on the ALA

For a more exhaustive list of species recorded at Barrambin, the Atlas of Living Australia (ALA) collates observations from various sources – including the “Research Grade” observations from iNaturalist. For the same area used in our Barrambin project, at the time of writing, the ALA lists 497 taxa, including 21 “threatened species”.

TipALA Area Report

Download the ALA area report from the Internet Archive (PDF generated on 2026-05-28).

You can create your own up-to-date report and explore the data by heading to the ALA’s Spatial Portal, importing the area’s KML, and selecting “Tools - Area Report”.

Remember: by contributing more observations to the project, and identifying existing observations, we can continue building up a more accurate and exhaustive record of biodiversity at Barrambin, which eventually feeds into authoritative databases like the ALA.

Protecting Barrambin

Here are other ways you can continue protecting Barrambin:

• Sign the community submission to support the Section 10 Applications, before 5 pm, 29th of May
• Donate to the Goori Camp Embassy, join the camp between 29th of May and 2nd of June, and follow them on Instagram
• Join the protest on Sunday 31st of May, 12 pm, outside the Herston Road entrance.
• Join actions and learn more with Save Victoria Park