QuestaGame & UniBioQuest
Join the quest for biodiversity and compete in a global competition, while contributing data for conservation research.
QuestaGame is a free-to-download mobile app that sends you on an adventure to discover biodiversity. Take photos of plants, animals, insects and fungi and submit to the app to learn about the biodiversity around you!
Anyone can play at any time!
You don’t have to be a bio-expert to get involved. Share your observations with the QuestaGame community, a network of professional scientists and amateur naturalists who can help assign species names to the organisms you find.
Download QuestaGame
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1. Download the QuestaGame app onto your mobile.
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2. Create an account and take photos of species you find on campus.
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3. Identify what you find down to major life form/animal group (e.g. plant, frog, bird, fungi) or species name if you can. If you don’t know the species name of your organism, let the app do the species identifying for you through its community of members!
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4. The more biodiversity you find or help identify, the more you learn about local species!
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5. Join the University’s UniBioQuest team during April and October and compete with other universities in a global competition to map biodiversity!
Compete in UniBioQuest
Compete against other universities around the world to collect and identify the most sightings of biodiversity, in UniBioQuest! Sign up and record sightings of animals, insects and fungi you find on campus using the QuestaGame app.
The competition runs for the entire months of April and October and is free to join. Anyone from the University community can compete.
Participants will also be eligible to gain recognition for their capability in Sustainability Advocacy, with a verified digital credential through Melbourne Plus!
How to sign up
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1. Download the QuestaGame app and create an account following the instructions above.
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2. Complete our registration form to enter as a UniMelb competitor and qualify for the University’s in-house prizes.
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3. Submit sightings of species you find on campus and help others identify what they have found throughout the competition period to gain points and climb the leader board!
Melbourne Plus
Melbourne Plus is the University’s flagship co-curricular recognition program. It supports your participation in activities that develop your capabilities and recognises you with a digital credential you can share with your network.
Students who record at least 20 sightings of on-campus animals, insects or fungi throughout October will be eligible to gain recognition for their capability in Sustainability Advocacy, with a verified digital credential through Melbourne Plus.
After you submit 20 sightings, you will be contacted at the end of October with instructions on how to obtain your Melbourne Plus digital credential.
Win prizes
Collect the most sightings or submit the most species IDs of on-campus animals, insects or fungi and you could win one of two $30 Biome gift vouchers!
Why collect biodiversity data?
Help the University monitor biodiversity and contribute to essential conservation research by regularly submitting sightings of animals, insects and fungi you find on campus!
Species sightings from citizen science apps, like QuestaGame, are shared with biodiversity data repositories, such as Atlas of Living Australia. This data helps researchers understand when and where species are occurring, informing management actions.
FAQs
Answers to frequently asked questions to help you get started with UniBioQuest and QuestaGame.
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When does UniBioQuest start and finish?
Round 2 of UniBioQuest starts 12:01am on the 1st of October (AEST) and runs until 11:59pm on 30th of October (AEST).
All sighting submissions and species IDs need to be submitted during the round to be counted in the competition.
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Who can sign up to UniBioQuest?
Anyone associated with the University can sign up! This includes students, staff, alumni and members of the community with an affiliation to the University of Melbourne.
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How do I join a UniBioQuest clan/team?
Complete our registration form. The end of the form contains details on how you can instantly join your chosen clan/team. Participants are grouped into teams based on the campus they will be visiting most to discover biodiversity!
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How do I gain my Melbourne Plus Sustainability Advocacy credential?
If you’re a University of Melbourne student who successfully records at least 20 sightings of animals, insects or fungi throughout October, you will be enrolled in a Melbourne Plus LMS Community. Here, you can complete a reflection on your development and receive the Sustainability Advocacy credential.
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Do I need any equipment to participate?
No! Use the QuestaGame app and your phone camera to record sightings of fauna and fungi found on campus.
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Do I need to use the camera in the QuestaGame app to take photos of the species I find?
No. You can use the camera on your phone or another camera. Just remember to upload your sightings to the QuestaGame app before the competition round closes!
Sightings need to be geo-tagged with location and time so ensure your location services are turned on your phone/camera or make a note of where you find species.
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I am located overseas/interstate. Can I still participate?
Yes. Participants can also look for species anywhere, however we highly encourage participants to look for species on campus. Sightings made off campus will not go towards in-house prizes or Melbourne Plus.
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Can I look for plants as well?
You can submit sightings of plants during UniBioQuest, however these will not go towards University in-house prizes or Melbourne Plus.
By submitting sightings of insects, animals and fungi found on campus, you are helping the University measure and protect its on-campus biodiversity.
The University has already mapped all of the plants on our campuses through the Biodiversity Baseline Data Project, but hasn't yet mapped all the insects, wildlife and fungi that visit or call our campuses home. We need your help to record sightings of these species to help us complete the database.
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My QuestaGame app keeps saying I have reached my daily sighting submission limit. How do I increase my limit?
Players can boost their daily sightings limit by supplying species identifications for other players sightings' in the app (QuestaLab – located on bottom right-hand corner of dashboard) or via the desktop Bio-Expertise Engine. Submitting your own sightings with correct species names will also increase your daily submission limit.
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Why are my sightings getting rejected by QuestaGame?
Your sightings may be rejected due to one of the following reasons:
- Your photos are of people, pets, cultivated plants or livestock. Although these are part of biodiversity, we need to learn more about wild plants, animals, insects and fungi so we can better protect them.
- Your photos are not clear enough.
- Your photo displays a dangerous situation. Please take care when looking for species and be aware of your surroundings.
- Your photo is a duplicate submission. QuestaGame won’t accept a second sighting of the same species if it is within 1 km and 24 hours of the previous sighting. For example, if you submit a photo of a monarch butterfly in location A, QuestaGame won’t accept another sighting of a monarch butterfly within 1km of location A (unless 24 hours have passed).
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When will winners be announced?
In-house prize winners will be announced in early November once the October round has closed.
QuestaGame also awards prizes to teams and individuals who submit the most sightings and species IDs. These awards are presented once the October round has finished.
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How will winners be notified?
Winners will be notified via email. Emails will be sent to the address provided in the registration form when you originally signed up. Please monitor this inbox.