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The Nai'a Guide 2.0: Utilizing Mobile Apps for Marine Conservation Efforts

Executive Summary Smartphones and apps have become an integral part of our daily lives. As of December 2014, 75% of Americans own a smartphone. iTunes, servicing Apple products, has 1.2 million apps and Google Play, servicing Android products, has 1.3 million apps. Given the popularity of such devices, smartphones and apps are an effective resource to reach the general public, but underutilized by those in the marine conservation field. As such, I present in this paper a way for organizations to take advantage of these tools for their own initiatives, using the example of the Nai'a Guide. In addition, I explore the search function capability of the two app stores and perform a series of interviews to gain insight in the app making process. Before delving into the Nai'a Guide app, a brief background is needed. Watching or swimming with marine wildlife has become a popular tourism activity. While ecotourism can increase public awareness, numerous studies suggest such tourism negatively impacts the targeted wildlife. Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris longirostris) are one example. These dolphins have a highly regulated 24-hour life cycle, which involves feeding offshore at night, resting close to shore in shallow waters during the early morning hours, and socializing in the afternoon. Because of this predictable near-shore behavior, a tourism industry has been established, often resulting in harassment of the dolphins, especially during their resting period. While spinner dolphins are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and by voluntary regulations by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, harassment is still a problem. One proposed solution was an iPad app to educate the public about the dolphin's biology and proper interaction etiquette. For a variety of reason, a new app needed to be built, resulting in my contribution to the project. To replace the current iTunes app, I built a web-based app. Rather than downloading the app from an app store, it is accessed through a website (www.naiaguide.com/naia2) and saved to your device's homescreen. There are many benefits to using a web-based app. First, WordPress is designed to be used by those with no web design background. Second, since web-based apps are websites, it will conform to any screen size on any device, eliminating the need for apps on multiple platforms. Finally, app maintenance is simplified as keeping up with operating system updates by Apple and Android is not necessary. However the downside of web-based apps through …