Whale and Dolphin Tracker: A Mobile Platform for Standardized Opportunistic Data Collection, Fluke Matching, and Community Science Engagement

The Whale and Dolphin Tracker (WDT) smartphone application (app) allows for near real-time, standardized data collection of cetacean sightings from anywhere around the globe. WDT is a free versatile tool designed to offer a user-friendly platform to record cetacean encounters according to their project requirements. The app allows users to record sightings along with GPS location to track spatial and temporal patterns. It integrates photo identification with image media storage, enabling individual-level analyses, with an optional add-on for real-time humpback whale identification via a Happywhale integration. The app also facilitates data collection for distance sampling so researchers can study population density and produce abundance estimates. The associated web portal (log.pacificwhale.org) allows users to easily access, review, and download their data. WDT can be used to support long-term, low-cost monitoring by taking advantage of existing vessel traffic (e.g., tour boats, ferries) as well as enhance educational experiences on ecotourism vessels. To date, more than 11,000 registered users have logged over 32,000 sightings of 23 species since 2017. Data collected using WDT have been used to produce four scientific publications, demonstrating the value of this app toward advancing marine science.