NAHPU: An integrated approach to natural history data acquisition and management in the extended specimen era

Natural history museums collect, curate, and distribute the data that underpin biodiversity science. Modern, holistic collection practices have increased the number of specimen parts, associated parasites, and derivative digital assets, challenging researchers to maintain data integrity for a vast set of data types representing the extended specimen. We developed the NAHPU digital field catalog and supporting software to streamline data collection from the field and upload to museum databases. NAHPU is open source, runs on mobile and desktop operating systems, and is distributed through official app stores with one-click installation and automatic updates on Apple devices, Windows, Android, and Linux. It provides stable support for mammalogy and ornithology, and beta support for herpetology, ichthyology, and invertebrate zoology. In addition to standard data-entry fields, it includes customizable, controlled data-entry vocabularies, flexible exports, a GUI template editor, and a growing list of real-time statistics to support reproducible collection practices. We tested NAHPU on field expeditions in remote, tropical field conditions, including 115 days (993 specimens and 3605 specimen parts) on Sumatra without on-site electricity, and as a long-term data management application. Our approach, involving Flutter, Rust, on-device computing, and open-source, interdisciplinary collaboration, provides a framework for low-cost, open-access software development.