Invasive species apps on the iPhone
There are a lot of great mobile apps to learn about and report invasive species. Mr. Chuck Bargeron, technology directory for the University of Georgia’s Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health (also known on the web as Bugwood), has created many apps about invasive species.
I had a chance to talk with Mr. Bargeron at the 2011 Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference:
- iPhone Apps and Google Maps Team Up to Battle Invasive Species
- Invasive Species Watch: Nile Monitor Lizards and Feral Hogs
In my How to Succeed in Hunting Invasive Species Without Really Trying blog post, I created a video about a fictional mobile app, but there are lots of great real invasive species apps for your mobile phone.
Here are some of the apps that Mr. Bargeron and the University of Georgia helped to create for citizen scientists on the hunt for invasive species. In the following listing, I’ve include links for you to download the iPhone (iPhone and iPad) and Android app versions and a brief description of the apps from their web pages:
- EDDMapS West
iPhone | Android
EDDMapS is a national web-based mapping system for documenting invasive species distribution. - Forest Insect Pests
iPhone | Android
The photos present in this app are intended to help foresters, urban landscaping employees, or others working with trees recognize some of the common pest insects affecting trees in North America and understand their life cycles and how they damage trees. - IveGot1
iPhone | Android
Submit invasive species observations directly with your mobile device from the field. These reports are uploaded to EDDMapS and emailed directly to local and state verifiers for review. - Outsmart Invasive Species
iPhone | Android
The Outsmart Invasive Species project is a collaboration between the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (MA DCR), and the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia. - What’s Invasive
iPhone | Android
One of the greatest dangers to natural areas is the spread of invasive species. This app accesses local lists created by National Park Service rangers and other professionals to show you top invasives species in your area.
These are some of the apps that I’ve tried out on my iPhone, but there are more out there too, including:
- Texas Invaders (TX Invaders)
iPhone | Android
The Invaders of Texas Citizen Science program collects species observations from volunteer citizen scientists trained to use a specially developed Invasive Species Early Detection and Reporting Kit.
I’ll have a special blog post on this app for citizen scientists to report Texas Invasives soon. 🙂
Your friend,
Ben
Commander Ben 