Abstract
The incidence and severity of cankers caused by Quambalaria coyrecup in marri (Corymbia calophylla) have increased significantly in south-western Australia since the early 1990s. Marri is an iconic overstorey forest tree across a number of forest ecosystems. It is a major food source, habitat tree, and refugium for numerous fauna, including the endangered Carnaby’s cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus latirostris), as well as a “staple species” for apiarists. Consequently, the impact of the pathogen on marri is causing widespread concern across the community for many reasons. The authors have developed an application that works across mobile platforms (e.g., IPhone and Android) that is being used by interested members of the public, local government agencies, foresters, and scientists to capture location (GPS), incidence, and severity of cankers on trees, and upload photographs and other site information to a central server. The “Marri App” also informs users on what a canker looks like at different stages of development. Importantly, it also provides information on how to establish and monitor trials including fungicide and other treatment trials that will be statistically robust and informative for scientific purposes. The importance and power of the “Marri App” for information dissemination, community engagement, and citizen science will be discussed.