Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program&rsquo;s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper

Low, Russanne D.; Schwerin, Theresa G.; Boger, Rebecca A.; Soeffing, Cassie; Nelson, Peder V.; Bartlett, Dan; Ingle, Prachi; Kimura, Matteo; Clark, Andrew

doi:10.3390/insects13070624

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Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper

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Institute for Global Environmental Strategies, Arlington, VA 22202, USA

The Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, NY 11210, USA

College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA

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Northwest Mosquito Abatement District, Wheeling, IL 60090, USA

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Department of Computer Science, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78705, USA

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Independence High School, Frisco, TX 75035, USA

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editors: Benjamin Cull and Emma L. Gillingham

Insects 2022, 13(7), 624; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13070624

Received: 9 April 2022 / Revised: 27 June 2022 / Accepted: 6 July 2022 / Published: 13 July 2022

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Citizen Science Approaches to Vector Surveillance)

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The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper is a free citizen science data collection tool that can be downloaded onto smartphones. The Mosquito Habitat Mapper encourages individuals to participate in locating and removing mosquito breeding habitats from use. An easy-to-use graphic interface enables users to report and describe mosquito breeding habitats, places with standing water where immature mosquitoes grow and develop. Citizen scientists are asked to determine if they see immature mosquitoes and if they wish to count and identify any mosquito larvae they see. In the last task, the user is asked to dump out or cover the standing water source, eliminating its use as a breeding habitat. In this way, the GLOBE Observer mobile app also supports the actions of individuals protecting their communities from mosquito-borne disease. In addition, all data reported by citizen scientists are publicly available. Scientists are accessing this data for a variety of research uses, including the development of automated techniques to recognize larvae and mosquito breeding sites from digital images. Since 2017, more than 32,000 Mosquito Habitat Mapper observations have been submitted by citizen scientists in 84 countries.

Abstract

The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper is a no-cost citizen scientist data collection tool compatible with Android and iOS devices. Available in 14 languages and 126 countries, it supports mosquito vector surveillance, mitigation, and education by interested individuals and as part of participatory community surveillance programs. For low-resource communities where mosquito control services are inadequate, the Mosquito Habitat Mapper supports local health action, empowerment, and environmental justice. The tangible benefits to human health supported by the Mosquito Habitat Mapper have encouraged its wide adoption, with more than 32,000 observations submitted from 84 countries. The Mosquito Habitat Mapper surveillance and data collection tool is complemented by an open database, a map visualization interface, data processing and analysis tools, and a supporting education and outreach campaign. The mobile app tool and associated research and education assets can be rapidly deployed in the event of a pandemic or local disease outbreak, contributing to global readiness and resilience in the face of mosquito-borne disease. Here, we describe the app, the Mosquito Habitat Mapper information system, examples of Mosquito Habitat Mapper deployment in scientific research, and the outreach campaign that supports volunteer training and STEM education of students worldwide. View Full-Text

Keywords: citizen science; mosquito; smartphone; mobile app; vector-borne disease; vector surveillance; mitigation; community engagement; open data

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MDPI and ACS Style

Low, R.D.; Schwerin, T.G.; Boger, R.A.; Soeffing, C.; Nelson, P.V.; Bartlett, D.; Ingle, P.; Kimura, M.; Clark, A. Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper. Insects 2022, 13, 624. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13070624

AMA Style

Low RD, Schwerin TG, Boger RA, Soeffing C, Nelson PV, Bartlett D, Ingle P, Kimura M, Clark A. Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper. Insects. 2022; 13(7):624. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13070624

Chicago/Turabian Style

Low, Russanne D., Theresa G. Schwerin, Rebecca A. Boger, Cassie Soeffing, Peder V. Nelson, Dan Bartlett, Prachi Ingle, Matteo Kimura, and Andrew Clark. 2022. "Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper" Insects 13, no. 7: 624. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13070624

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Building International Capacity for Citizen Scientist Engagement in Mosquito Surveillance and Mitigation: The GLOBE Program’s GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper

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