Monarch SOS is a collaborative mobile app development effort between Naturedigger, LLC in cooperation with the Monarch Joint Venture and its citizen science partners. This monarch-focused app provides an informational foundation for identifying monarchs and milkweeds in different stages. A monarch citizen science reporting section is currently in development and should be available as an added part of the app by spring 2016.
In its current state, Monarch SOS is best used as a companion app for citizen scientists participating in monarch population and migration data collection programs. Beta testing for the citizen science reporting section is underway. During the next phase, the app will allow you to record information from your mobile device and save it to later enter to various online program databases. The final phase will connect app data collection services directly with citizen science program databases so that contributors can submit data directly to monarch citizen science programs from the app itself.
To build on over 20 years of data collection by established citizen science programs, the app will support these programs to help recruit more volunteers, enable more efficient and timely data collection, and encourage participation across different programs addressing different phases of the monarch annual cycle. With guidance from the Monarch Joint Venture and their citizen science partners, Monarch SOS will be a great tool for enhancing these programs and thus, the understanding of monarch butterflies and their habitats through citizen science.
The app will incorporate citizen science monitoring and reporting protocols from the following programs:
- Journey North
- Monarch Alert
- Monarch Larva Monitoring Project
- Monarch Watch
- Project Monarch Health
- Southwest Monarch Study
- Xerces Society
You can find the app by searching “Monarch SOS” on the Apple Store or following this link (currently only the Apple version is available, but an Android version will be a part of the next phase of the project). If you have feedback on the app, what you would like to see from the next phase of development, and how Monarch SOS can be most useful to you, please email monarchs@monarchjointventure.org.