inaturalist.observations.species_counts
Get a biodiversity summary for a place (place_id from inaturalist.places_search): the species most frequently observed there, ranked by observation count, optionally filtered to a taxon group (e.g. only birds) and/or a date range. Useful for surveying local wildlife or flora. Data: iNaturalist.or...
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What inaturalist.observations.species_counts does on Apibase
AI agents call inaturalist.observations.species_counts 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
per_page | integer | — | Number of species to return, ranked by observation count, 1-50 (default 20). |
place_id | integer | Yes | Numeric place id from inaturalist.places_search to get species counts for. |
taxon_id | integer | — | Restrict to descendants of this taxon id, e.g. only birds or only plants. |
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.species_counts is rated Low
Tool queries and retrieves public biodiversity data without modifying, executing, or deleting anything.
From the tool's definition Get a biodiversity summary, ranked by observation count, no side effects.
Attacks that exploit this kind of access
The rule that runs inaturalist.observations.species_counts 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.species_counts, this is the rule to start with:
inaturalist.observations.species_counts 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.species_counts call is checked against it from then on.
Questions about inaturalist.observations.species_counts
Get a biodiversity summary for a place (place_id from inaturalist.places_search): the species most frequently observed there, ranked by observation count, optionally filtered to a taxon group (e.g. only birds) and/or a date range. Useful for surveying local wildlife or flora. 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.species_counts accepts 5 parameters: per_page, place_id, taxon_id, observed_after, observed_before. Required: place_id. 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.species_counts: 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.species_counts 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.species_counts 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.species_counts. 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.species_counts 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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