On the drive home from another inspiring Ontario Chapter of the American Fisheries Society Annual Meeting, the authors of this paper began an enthusiastic conversation about the endless uses of smart phones, both for social interactions and networking as well as for more innovative uses, namely scientific research. Everyone who actively uses smart phones and tablets can contest to the usefulness of the imbedded Global Positioning System (GPS) and cameras; however, in combination with the addition of accelerometers and customizable softwarde applications (apps), these handheld devices have become extremely powerful research tools. Currently, smart phones and digital tablets are more frequently used to collect data for agricultural, geographical and medical research. To enhance student learning, more and more educators are integrating tablets into curricula for both indoor and outdoor course work. This paper focuses on both the current and potential uses of handheld devices, with a focus on fisheries professionals. With new waterproofing technology, cases, and peripheral adapters, smartphones and digital tablets now have the potential to be safely used in a remarkable array of applied scenarios, adding ease and efficiency to data collection and the dissemination of information.
Gutowsky et al. 2013- Smartphones and Fish (FISHERIES)
