By providing high-quality data on the status of tropical forest organisms, the TEAM Network supports a global community of scientists, conservation professionals, and citizens working toward biodiversity conservation. The value of these data is maximized when they are systematically and consistently collected and rapidly disseminated. Currently available technology, in the form of networked handheld computers, offer an outstanding opportunity to improve the quality of data collected and the speed at which it is transmitted. TEAM has partnered with the Center for Embedded Networked Sensing (CENS) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to develop an EcoPDA to achieve this goal.

The TEAM Network is currently testing the first prototype of an EcoPDA to be used during data collection for the TEAM standardized biodiversity protocols. The first stage was to test the EcoPDA application for the butterfly protocol. CENS used emulator software to allow users throughout the network to test the EcoPDA application from remote locations. The emulator software is flexible and can be run from a local desktop PC, providing an easy way to receive feedback. Gathering feedback from TEAM Network scientists and technicians is vital to ensuring that the EcoPDA application is designed to allow for efficient and standardized data collection. Scientists involved with the butterfly protocol were invited to participate and provide feedback. Their comments were received in early April and CENS is currently working to incorporate them into the next version of the butterfly protocol application. The EcoPDA application for the butterfly protocol will soon be tested in the field.

EcoPDA application development for the vegetation protocol has already begun and TEAM plans to use the same process to develop applications for the primate and avian protocols. Stay tuned for news on the results from the field testing.

For more information on the EcoPDA application, Click Here