Mobile Mapping of the Endangered Pallid Sturgeon

The U.S. Geological Survey, Columbia Environmental Research Center is engaged in a multidisciplinary study to investigate pallid sturgeon (Scaphirhynchus albus) behavior and movement in the Lower Missouri River.  Sturgeon telemetry locations and tracking vessel search efforts are recorded using a customized ArcPad (ESRI Inc.) application developed for mobile mapping and electronic data collection loaded on ruggedized laptop computers.  Customized forms streamline data entry by prompting users to collect data for each telemetry location or search effort.  Data collected for each search effort includes crew member names, and type of search effort.  For each sturgeon relocation, the forms prompt users to collect habitat, substrate, water quality, hydrologic condition data.  The software automatically records date, time, and spatial coordinates from a Global Positioning System for both search efforts and telemetry locations.  The custom electronic forms reduce errors by automatically verifying data entered by field crews.  If an entry falls outside the expected values the software presents an error message prompting the crew for data correction.  Interactive drop-down lists are used to expedite data entry and further reduce entry errors.  By electronically capturing information at the time of collection, the forms within ArcPad eliminate data entry by office personnel.  Data for sturgeon relocations and search efforts are uploaded to a secure server located at the Columbia Environmental Research Center on a daily basis using a secure internet webpage, ensuring near real-time data delivery and reporting.  The ArcPad user interface and data entry forms can be customized for a wide range of applications.