# Marked Individual **An Individual**, or **Marked Individual**, is an animal that has been given an identifying name on Wildbook. Individuals have one or more encounters associated with them, which can be accessed by viewing the individual’s profile. This allows a researcher to review and study where the individual was over time. Individual pages can be accessed using the Individual search or from a linked encounter. ## Managing an Individual When you first navigate to an Individual page, you can view and edit the following information. ### Individual Overview To change the following details, click the **Edit** button in the overview section. * **Individual name:** This name is assigned as the *Default* ID. You can enter a new name and select **Update**. If you remove the given name, the individual will display the UUID in the database. Additional names can be assigned to the individual, such as nicknames or project identifiers. To do so, select **Add New Name**, then provide a *label* and a *name value* to go with the label before you select **Update**. Name changes that impact display require a page refresh before they display. *(Note: the label "newname" is not supported and will cause visual errors until redefined.)* * **Sex**: Can be set or edited using the Sex drop-down menu. * **Taxonomy**: Pulled from the species associated with the linked encounters. * **Date of Birth**: This gets entered in the format **YYYY-MM-DD**. The field contains an example of the format, but is blank until a date is entered by a researcher. * **Date of Death**: This gets entered in the format **YYYY-MM-DD**. The field contains an example of the format, but is blank until a date is entered by a researcher. * **Alternate ID**: Another position to add an ID. * **Encounter Gallery**: A carousel of each image associated with the linked encounters. ### Social Group Memberships Wildbook supports the creation and assignment of individuals to groups, representative of social orders like packs or pods. **Membership** is what to use when naming a role as related to the group, such as alpha or scout. #### Create a New Group 1. Under **Social Group Memberships**, select **Edit/Add**. 2. Enter the name in **New Social Unit Name**. 3. Optionally, you can enter any of the following: * **Role Name**: Enter the name of the position the individual holds in the social group. * **Membership Start**: When the individual joined the group. * **Membership End**: When the individual left the group. 4. Select **Edit/Create**. #### Edit an Existing Group 1. Under **Social Group Memberships**, select **Edit/Add**. 2. In the **Social Group Name** dropdown, select the group you intend to adjust. 3. Make any adjustments you want to the social group fields. 4. Select **Edit/Create**. #### Remove an Existing Group 1. Under **Social Group Memberships**, select **Edit/Add**. 2. In the **Social Group Name** drop-down manu, select the group you intend to remove. 3. Select **Remove**. ### Supporting Data The tables show contributions that support the creation of the individual, including all linked encounters and available biological samples. * **Encounter Table:** All encounters that the user has access to display in a table. A total count of the number of encounters that make up the individual is also provided. * **Biological Samples:** All biological samples associated with the encounters that make up the individual are displayed. ### Social Relationships To support tracking the relationships that develop between animals, Wildbook supports the creation and assignment of individuals to social relationships. Relationships are used to describe relationships between two individuals, such as familial relationships between a mother and child. #### Add a Relationship 1. Under **Social Relationships**, select **Add relationship**. 2. Set the **Type** of relationship. By default, the type is *familial*. 3. Individual 1 defaults to the current individual. Set **Individual 1 Role** to the relationship role you want associated with the current individual. 4. *(Optional)* Provide an additional **Descriptor** for the relationship. This value is not constrained. Some suggested uses are to: * indicate degree of certainty of the relationship. * indicate if this is a primary or secondary role based on behavior that aligns with relationship. 5. In **Individual 2**, start typing the name for a second Individual. A dropdown list will populate with matching options; select from the dropdown. 6. Set **Individual 2 Role** to the relationship role you want associated with the current individual. 7. (Optional) Provide an additional **Descriptor** for the relationship. This value is not constrained. Some suggested uses are to: * indicate degree of certainty of the relationship. * indicate if this is a primary or secondary role based on behavior that aligns with relationship. 8. Select **Update** to confirm the relationship. #### Social Diagram The social diagram is a tool to allow for easy visualization of the relationships between individuals. Filters are available by role and relationship type. #### Social Relationships Table Navigate to the table to see all relationships that have been created including the individual. #### Edit a Relationship 1. Under the *Social Relationships Table*, select **Edit** on the appropriate relationship. 2. Make any desired changes to the relationship. 3. Select **Update** to confirm the changes made. #### Remove a Relationship 1. Under the *Social Relationships Table*, select **Remove** on the appropriate relationship. 2. Confirm that you want to delete the relationship by selecting **Yes**. #### Co-occurrences Displays instances of individuals being sighted together. #### Co-occurrences Diagram A tool to allow for easy visualization of the co-sightings between individuals. #### Co-occurences Table Contains all sightings that include this individual and others. ### Mapping The map found here displays the locations associated with the linked encounters. ### Additional Data Files If there are data files that need to be associated with the Individual, you are able to upload them. To do so, **Browse** to the file, select **Open**, the confirm to **Send file**. ### Collaborating Researchers All researchers that are associated with linked encounters are displayed. It will include the researcher's name, image, affiliation and, if applicable, research project. These value are pulled from the user profile and cannot be edited from the Individual page. ### Comments All comments that researchers have provided for a given individual are available to review. You can add additional comments by entering text and selecting Add comments. ### Troubleshooting You can find answers to frequently asked questions about merging Marked Individuals [here](../faq/merging-faq.md).