Development of a custom mobile app for community monitoring of American pikas (Ochotona princeps)

Background/Question/Methods

Expanding citizen science to broader and more diverse communities is often hampered by high barriers to entry for volunteers, such as attending in-person trainings. Such barriers were particularly salient during the COVID-19 pandemic, as large gatherings were limited. Mobile apps offer a potential solution to broaden participation in these projects, particularly if they incorporate volunteer training, data recording and submission, and project branding. We developed a custom app for community scientists to record observations of American pikas (Ochotona princeps), which are small, climate-sensitive mammals found in the mountains of western North America. Pikas are ideal for citizen science monitoring because they are charismatic, easily identified, and present in many popular recreation areas such as national parks. Furthermore, citizen and community scientists have helped document recent declines linked to climate change in parts of the pika’s range, and trained volunteers are as accurate as professional scientists at identifying occupied territories using pikas and calls. Our app, “Pika Patrol” uses open-source code and is cross-platform compatible. Pika Patrol allows volunteers to record and submit data for opportunistic observations of pikas, including sound recordings and photographs from the field. Users can also view training materials offline when out of service.

Results/Conclusions

We engaged over 30 volunteers in beta testing Pika Patrol on iOS/Android platforms. Beta testers were able to successfully submit observations and reported the app was functional and easy to use, and the app will officially launch for public use before summer. However, we encountered several unexpected challenges during the development of this app. First, complex legal agreements were necessary for managing ownership of the app and its data, as well as for drafting terms of use and privacy policy documents consistent with the requirements of the app stores. In addition, significant staff time was required to troubleshoot cross-platform compatibility and to manage developer accounts in each app store. Because the source code is freely available on GitHub, we hope that this app (or elements of its code) can serve as a template for other ecological citizen science projects seeking to streamline data collection and engage broader audiences. Specifically, the source code for Pika Patrol may offer additional options for projects interested in focusing volunteer attention and effort on a single project/species, recording sound, and using apps to engage users in taking conservation actions beyond submitting data (e.g., participating in restoration projects or carbon-offset efforts, etc.).