Teachers, students, beachgoers, researchers and others can now view a wealth of information about central California marine life through a new iPhone and iPad application released by NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The free “SeaPhoto” app, the first of its kind for the region, includes more than 1,300 photos of marine life, some with detailed ecological information.
“People connect to the National Marine Sanctuary in so many ways, said Paul Michel, sanctuary superintendent. “We are proud to be able to facilitate this virtual use in an instructive way through cutting-edge technology.”
In addition to the photos of more than 550 species of marine life, the mobile app includes an extensive, searchable glossary of common and scientific names. Users can save their favorite photos and share them via Twitter and email. The app
also provides general information about the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and links to the sanctuary’s web site and its YouTube channel. Developed in partnership with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, SeaPhoto can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple App store onto an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. The app is a mobile extension of an even larger online photo library that currently contains over 4,200 photos of seascapes and marine life that can be accessed at www.sanctuarysimon.org/photos. These photos can be downloaded for free for non-commercial use.