WASHINGTON — If your holiday weekend takes you to the Chesapeake Bay, you can help scientists study dolphins and the body of water where they live.

University of Maryland scientist Helen Bailey launched a web-based app last year inviting the public to report the locations of dolphins they see in the bay.

“Dolphins are wonderful animals to watch; they’re so fascinating,” Bailey said.

Finding out where dolphins are won’t just alert scientists to their location but will also help them learn about the bay’s ecosystem.

“Most likely, they’re going to be coming into the bay because they’re following their food. They’re following fish,” she said.

The site is free to use, but you have to sign up and create a password before you can report a sighting and view a map of sightings reported so far.

“The more eyes we have on the water, the better to report dolphin sightings,” Bailey told WTOP last June. “We think that citizens can make very good citizen scientists.”

To report a dolphin sighting, go to Chesapeake Dolphin Watch.

WTOP’s Michelle Basch contributed to this report.