For those of you involved in offshore surveys for seabirds,
marine mammals, and other wildlife --
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) recently
funded the development of a new at-sea survey data collection
app for Android and iOS platforms, such as tablets. The app,
called SeaScribe, was developed by the
Biodiversity Research Institute and Tilson Government Services,
and has now been approved for release.
In short, SeaScribe is a data collection tool for
offshore wildlife surveyors (using either boats or planes) that
is specifically designed to improve data standardization and
work flow, reduce data entry errors, and decrease time from raw
data output to finalized datasets for analysis.
SeaScribe features include:
- capturing
environmental conditions and behavioral information
alongside each geo-referenced wildlife observation, using
internal or external GPS,
- efficient
data entry screens with core data fields and the ability to
create and use customized data fields,
- capturing
digital photographs and audio clips from onboard cameras and
microphones, tagged to specific observations and locations,
- export of
data in JSON or CSV file formats, including tagged images or
audio clips, via email or Dropbox, and
- a reporting
tool that summarizes survey data by transect or survey for
screen view or exporting.
And, as if that
wasn't exciting enough, BOEM has made the app freely
available for download via
Google Play (https://play.google.com/store/search?q=seascribe&c=apps)
and the
iTunes App Store (https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/seascribe/id1084264780?mt=8).
For more information about SeaScribe, and to
download the handy User's Guide, please visit our website at --
http://www.briloon.org/seascribe.
--
Iain Stenhouse, PhD
Senior Science Director
Marine Bird Program Director
Biodiversity Research Institute
276 Canco Road
Portland, Maine 04103, USA
Tel: 207-839-7600 x210
www.briloon.org