The Pennsylvania Sea Grant Program is one of 34 national Sea Grant programs administered and supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Penn State University, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to promote a healthy, sustainable coastal ecosystem.

The number of new invasive species in Pennsylvania’s watersheds has been increasing at an alarming rate of one every six to eight months, posing a threat to aquatic life that depends on the health of the ecosystem.

Biologists that track these aquatic invaders have long relied on the Pennsylvania Field Guide to Aquatic Invasive Species; however, the guidebook had to be continually updated, reprinted and redistributed each time a new invasive species was found, incurring costs and delays in disseminating new information.

Sea Grant program managers at Penn State Extension needed a more effective way to detect and respond before these invasive organisms became widely established and difficult to eradicate.

Skyward App Company worked with Pennsylvania Sea Grant to develop an interactive and dynamic mobile app that natural resource professionals could use to identify, catalog, and report invasive species quickly and accurately.

The digitized guide had to be easily navigated and allow professionals to work both online and offline.

The mobile app also allows biologists to:
• Access the most up-to-date reference information from their personal smart devices in the field.
• Search for images, key characteristics and features of existing invasive species; and
• Log the exact location of an organism using GPS coordinates, and submit information including abundance, spread and date.

The solution includes a website-based content management system which allows program managers to update, correct, or add new data and species at any time.