Records of amphibians and reptiles via iRecord

Quality Control

This dataset includes both verified and unverified records. Verification is carried out by expert volunteers who may be associated with their local Amphibian and Reptile Group as part of ARG UK, or with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC), or with a local natural history society or other relevant organisation. Where verification is available, the aim is to ensure that any record that is unusual (due to time of year, location, or species identified) is queried, and only accepted if supporting evidence (photo, specimen, confirmation from additional recorders) is provided. The iRecord system uses NBN record cleaner rules to highlight potentially unusual records as part of this process. While we cannot guarantee that all records which pass the verification checks are correct, we believe that a high degree of confidence can be placed in the verified records. Unverified records need to be viewed with appropriate caution.

Method steps

1. The dataset includes ad hoc records from volunteer recorders, as well as data from professional surveys and from citizen science projects such as bioblitzes. Some records may state that a particular methodology has been used to generate them. In general the data consists of presence-only records collected using a variety of recording methods.