Invasive Species Reporting Apps: Researchers Identify How To Improve These Important Tools

Apps that monitor invasive alien species (IAS) allow citizen scientists to join in the efforts to identify and prevent the spread of such species, but it appears these apps haven't been maximized yet. Good thing, a team of researchers recently identified some of the ways they can be improved.

IAS are species that are introduced, whether accidentally or intentionally, beyond their natural geographic range. These can be plants, animals or other organisms that are non-native to the new location, and thus may have adverse impacts on the economy, environment and biodiversity.

"Since the 17th century, invasive alien species have contributed to nearly 40% of all animal extinctions for which the cause is known," the Convention on Biological Diversity noted.

So far, quite a few invasive species reporting apps have been developed to help monitor invasive species via citizen science, according to the researchers of a study published in the journal NeoBiota. However, there still seems to be room for improvement for these apps.

"While more reporting apps are developed each year, innovation across diverse functionalities and data management in this field are occurring separately and simultaneously amongst numerous research groups with little attention to trends, priorities and opportunities for improvement," the researchers wrote.

For their work, the researchers had a closer look at why IAS reporting apps don't really get as much attention as other biodiversity reporting apps, Pensoft Publishers noted in a blog. To do this, they looked at almost 500 peer-reviewed articles and determined what the "key features" of a perfect IAS reporting app would be.

They then applied the rubric to 41 free, English language IAS reporting apps that are available in North America.

"The five highest performing apps achieved scores of 61.90% to 66.35% relative to a hypothetical maximum score, indicating that many app features and functionalities, acknowledged to be useful for IAS reporting in literature, are not present in sampled apps," the researchers wrote. "This suggests that current IAS reporting apps do not make use of all available and known functionalities that could maximise their efficacy."

The researchers noted several things that could be improved in the apps. Among these are gamification, or adding some game-like elements to make it more engaging, as well as social media capability, which is said to be missing in current apps but may also encourage participation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) identification may also help improve species identification and public participation, Pensoft noted.

The researchers also suggested implementing some level of coordination among the apps as the current ones are often made by different groups. This means that there is a risk of duplication and "inconsistent implementation," and the data end up being sent to separate databases.

By coordinating, for instance by sharing templates and open source code, local groups can make apps specific to the region and the data will contribute to a centralized database, Pensoft noted.

"Smartphone apps, if widely used, are amongst the most promising approaches to monitor, predict and reduce the spread of invasive alien species," the researchers wrote. "With broader participation, more informative reporting forms and more consistent and structured data management, IAS reporting apps could make much larger contributions to Early Detection and Rapid Response efforts worldwide."