inaturalist.observations.search
Search real-world wildlife sightings logged by the iNaturalist community, filterable by species (taxon_name or taxon_id), place (place_id from inaturalist.places_search), a lat/lng radius, date range, and data quality grade (research/needs_id/casual). Returns each observation's species guess, tax...
This record as markdown: /tools/io-github-whiteknightonhorse-apibase/inaturalist.observations.search.md
What inaturalist.observations.search does on Apibase
AI agents call inaturalist.observations.search to retrieve information from Apibase without modifying anything. It is typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
| Parameter | Type | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
lat | number | — | Latitude for a radius search. Must be paired with lng. |
lng | number | — | Longitude for a radius search. Must be paired with lat. |
per_page | integer | — | Number of results to return, 1-20 (default 10). At least one of taxon_name, taxon_id, place_id, or lat/lng is required. |
place_id | integer | — | Numeric place id from inaturalist.places_search to filter observations by. |
taxon_id | integer | — | Numeric taxon id from inaturalist.taxa_search to filter observations by. |
radius_km | number | — | Search radius in kilometers around lat/lng (default 10). |
taxon_name | string | — | Scientific or common name to filter observations by, e.g. "Danaus plexippus". |
quality_grade | string | — | Filter by data quality: "research" (community-verified ID), "needs_id" (unconfirmed), or "casual" (no photo/no location/captive). |
observed_after | string | — | Only include observations on/after this date, ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD). |
observed_before | string | — | Only include observations on/before this date, ISO 8601 (YYYY-MM-DD). |
Parameters from the server's own tool schema.
Why inaturalist.observations.search is rated Low
Retrieves public citizen-science biodiversity data without modification or execution capabilities.
From the tool's definition Search wildlife sightings, returns observation data, no auth required.
Risk signalsHigh parameter count (10 properties)
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs inaturalist.observations.search safely
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway: it sits between your AI agents and Apibase, and checks every tool call against a rule you set before the call runs. Nothing changes on the server itself. For inaturalist.observations.search, this is the rule to start with:
inaturalist.observations.search is read-only, so it stays allowed. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
The button opens the PolicyLayer dashboard: create your workspace, connect Apibase, apply this rule, and every inaturalist.observations.search call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about inaturalist.observations.search
Search real-world wildlife sightings logged by the iNaturalist community, filterable by species (taxon_name or taxon_id), place (place_id from inaturalist.places_search), a lat/lng radius, date range, and data quality grade (research/needs_id/casual). Returns each observation's species guess, taxon info, observed date, location, observer, and photo. Data: iNaturalist.org global citizen-science community, no auth required. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Apibase MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
inaturalist.observations.search accepts 10 parameters: lat, lng, per_page, place_id, taxon_id, radius_km, taxon_name, quality_grade, observed_after, observed_before. The full parameter table on this page comes from the server's own tool schema.
Register the Apibase MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for inaturalist.observations.search: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches Apibase. Nothing to install.
inaturalist.observations.search is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the inaturalist.observations.search rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for inaturalist.observations.search. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.
inaturalist.observations.search is provided by the Apibase MCP server (apibase-mcp-client). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
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