SamplEase: a simple application for collection and organization of biological specimen data in the field

Abstract

Careful collection and organization of biological specimens and their associated data are at the core of field research (e.g., ecology, genetics). Fieldwork data are often collected by handwriting or unsystematically via an electronic device (e.g., laptop), a process that is time-intensive, disorganized, and may lead to transcription errors, as data are copied to a more permanent repository. SamplEase is an iOS and Android application that is designed to ease the process of collecting biological specimen data in the field (data associated with biological samples, such as location, age, and sex). In addition to biological specimen data, SamplEase allows for the assignment of photographs to each collected sample, which provides visual records of each specimen in its environment. SamplEase outputs biological specimen data in a tabular format, facilitating subsequent analyses and dissemination. Despite the simplicity of SamplEase, no similar data management application is readily available for researchers.

Keywords: animal sampling; biological specimen data; data management; fieldwork; images.

Figure 1

Overview of SamplEase. Steps one to four are conducted only once per session, while steps five to seven are conducted each time data are collected

Figure 2

SamplEase screens (iOS version). (a) Opening screen. (b) Registration. (c) Link to Dropbox. (d) Start session. (e) Session information. (f) Sample addition. (g) Sample information. (h) Biosample selection. (i) Upload page. (j) Successful session upload

Figure 3

Example of a photograph taken using SamplEase of a white camel

Figure 4

Images of camel neck, body, tail, and foot captured with SamplEase. Scale disks (5, 10, 20 cm) are placed on the body parts to allow for extraction of scale factors

Figure 5

Lateral and dorsal views of camel heads. A 5 cm scale was placed on each image for morphometric analyses