Science Cafe Posts - Mission Mosquito
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I was excited when I heard that I got a second opportunity to participate in the NASA SEES internship. I was fortunate to be selected last year too. But when I found out that I was placed on the Mosquito Mapper team, initially I was a bit disappointed that I did not get my preferred choice. But I went in with an open mind. In both years, the internship falls during my school year because in...
Co-author and GLOBE Observer scientist Dr. Rusty Low (right) with co-author, Anita Schiller (left), Director, Biological Control Initiative, Harris County, TX, Precinct 4. “We encourage you to conduct your own local mosquito “expedition” and submit photos during the Mosquito Habitat Photo Challenge.“ More details on the challenge are further below.Rusty: When we told our friends we were going...
The GLOBE Mosquito Habitat Photo Challenge kicked off Sunday, July 25 and continues through August 25, 2021. This challenge combines Mosquito Habitat Mapper and Land Cover (two GLOBE Observer app tools) to document areas with and without mosquito breeding habitats using only photos. A picture could be worth a thousand words. But can we use computers to tell us which words...
Have you ever wondered what happens after you submit your GLOBE Observer data? Citizen science data has many applications and is also incredibly important for scientists who are working in the field of artificial intelligence (AI). This is because citizen science observations are an effective way to obtain the tens of thousands of photos needed to train, validate, and test predictive models...
Hi! My name is Om, and I'm a high school junior. This summer, I participated in the SEES Internship Program a partnership with UT Austin and NASA, and worked with the Mosquito Mapper cohort. The goal of the Mosquito Mappers is to collect mosquito larva, analyze this data, and draw conclusions about mosquitoes and their land cover habitats. I started the internship in early June with an...
Hello, I’m Prayag Sreenivasan, and I’m a student in the NASA SEES 2021 MosquitoMappers internship. A big part of the internship is doing hands-on research projects ourselves. With the Mosquito Mappers team, we were to utilize land cover data and mosquito mapper data with GLOBE to study mosquito populations with our projects.The first project we were assigned was to cultivate mosquitoes in about...
Aseel, a SEES 2021 Earth System Explorer/Mosquito Mapper shares this research. This summer, I am delighted to have a unique opportunity to dig deeper and learn more about mosquitoes, trends in larval habitats, and environmental satellite data. It's giving me a chance to expand my knowledge about mosquitoes. Last year, I researched and developed a low-cost and environmentally sustainable...
Paxton C, spent the summer of 2021 involved with a virtual NASA internship, the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) Program, through the Texas Space Grant Consortium. More specifically, I am working on the GLOBE Mosquito Mappers Earth Explorers Project, where I am studying mosquito habitats and vector-borne disease alongside mentors and fellow interns from all over the nation.To get going...
Ali Rospond, Museum Education Coordinator, American Philosophical Society. Imagine Philadelphia in 1793. The growing city had a population of 50,000 of which around 2,000 were black Philadelphians, 310 of whom were enslaved. The city was the center of government, trade, science, and medicine. The country was still trying to find its footing; the U.S. Constitution was signed only six...
Alissa S. is a high school student from New Jersey. She is currently participating in the 2021 STEM Enhancement in the Earth Sciences Mosquito Habitat Mapper summer research intern cohort.Hi! My name is Alissa, and I’m an intern at the NASA SEES Earth Explorers/Mosquito Mappers internship. At this internship, we do research, and that research is based on GLOBE Land Cover and Mosquito Mapper...
Rahil V. is a high school student from Maryland. He was part of the 2020 STEM Enhancement in the Earth Sciences Mosquito Habitat Mapper summer research intern cohort. This past summer I attended the SEES Virtual Mosquito Mappers Internship, changing my life. I suppose "life-changing" is often used arbitrarily to describe a great experience, but I can assure you, I do mean life-changing. I...
Two projects have adopted the GO Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool as a way to obtain data for scientific analysis. The GLOBE Mission Mosquito Campaign plays an official role in a research project funded by the National Science Foundation: Citizen Epidemiology: Designing and Connecting Next-Generation Cyber, Biological, and Citizen Science Systems for the Surveillance and Control of Mosquito-Borne...
This collaborative webinar was planned and presented by three NASA Science Activation Earth science awards and the GLOBE Implementation Office. Each group shared a broad range of NASA-sponsored opportunities and resources to connect students to investigating our Earth system using NASA and GLOBE data. The recording is available...
Hello! My name is Faguni and I am a rising senior from San Jose, California. Over the summer, I participated in the NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Science Internship program and was a part of the Mosquito Mapper Team. What was originally supposed to be a two-week program at UT-Austin and the Johnson Space Center, turned into an eight-week virtual internship, all from the comforts of our...
I worked with a team of four other SEES interns to conduct an investigation into mosquito larvae trapping. We chose to research the effectiveness of mosquito larvae traps in different geographical areas, as we noticed that many of the interns were having trouble with capturing mosquito larvae in experimental traps. Moreover, understanding what type of traps and trap bait type most...
Cases of mosquito-borne disease are increasing in the United States. Because these diseases are directly correlated with the abundance of mosquitoes, finding what environmental variables impact mosquito populations is essential to prevent the transmission of disease. For the SEES 2020 Mosquito Mapper research project, our group decided to focus on identifying the statistical correlations...
Through my research, I tried to find a connection between plants and mosquitoes, so that humans can find a safe, natural, and aesthetically pleasing way to deter these disease vectors. I began my search for answers by visiting nature preserves in my area to sample water, set mosquito traps, and take pictures of the plants. I also used the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper data from the...
Hi everyone, my name is Bhaskar J, and I'm interning with the SEES Mosquito Mappers research team this summer, in which we use the GLOBE Observer citizen science app. There are a lot of moving parts to it, but overall it's been an incredible experience! One part of the program is catching mosquito larvae in our home-made traps. See the attached images showing how I made mine! Figure....
To draw statistically valid conclusions about ecological trends, such as the relationship between land cover and mosquito population dynamics, land areas of interest must be sampled in a consistent manner. Numerous ground observations of local areas can help scientists gain insight of the landscape, especially in regions where remote sensing techniques fail to measure certain land...
Coming into the NASA SEES Mosquito Mapper program, I was beyond nervous. Living in Washington State in an area with few mosquitoes, I had no idea how I would be able to collect enough data for the final research project, especially since this was the first time I was conducting research on my own. In addition to that, the program was entirely virtual! As a visual learner, I was worried that...
Through the SEES Mosquito Mappers internship, I have learned how to skeptically interrogate the world around us and devise profound questions that can shape our understanding of the natural universe. I came to this internship knowing very little about science except for the basics of the scientific method and the “facts” that we are mandated to memorize in our educational system. I...
Guest blog by SEES Virtual Intern Sweta Alla NASA STEM Enhancement in Earth Sciences: Mosquito Mappers Virtual High School Summer Internship. It’s a mouthful to say, but that title describes exactly what I did last summer. As a virtual intern, I collaborated with NASA scientists and our intern cohort and developed a research project that I presented at a science symposium at the end of the...
You have submitted GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper observations, but are still unsure how to access and analyze that data? This blog outlines the steps to download data into a spreadsheet, describes the data found in each column, and discusses what to do with the two sets of latitude and longitude data associated with each observation. Download Data First you will need to...
In this pro tip, you will learn how to increase your location accuracy while using the GLOBE Observer app and learn why location accuracy matters. How is location determined? By using a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, (either hand-held or built into your mobile device), you are able to obtain your geographical position on the Earth’s surface. The antennas on your GPS receiver...
Thirty-one seniors armed with the GLOBE Observer mobile app hiked Kamanaumui Valley at the end of October. During the 3.3 mile trek, hikers made Land Cover and Mosquito Habitat observations, while passing verdant tropical vegetation, the ruins of a colonial manor, a biological restoration plot and ancient petroglyphs. OLLI trekkers used the GLOBE Observer app to make observations The...
In this article, meet Prof. Glenda Ivette Lozada Negrón, a science teacher whose elementary classroom is actively engaged in reducing the risk of mosquito borne disease through mosquito surveillance and mitigation, as part of an ongoing service learning project in Puerto Rico . Tell us about your project? The project began as part of a curriculum with the Science and Research Trust of Puerto...
Guest Scientist blog by Dr. Joseph Kerski, Esri Esri and the GLOBE program have been working together on initiatives and educator training for decades. GLOBE was one of the first major education-focused citizen science programs, and it offers a wealth of data on soil chemistry, water quality, weather, and much more, as well as rigorously tested methods to have your...
Guest Scientist Blog by Kayla M. Thomas, McNair Scholar, Southern Nazarene University Oklahoma has experienced three major outbreaks of West Nile Virus (WNV) since its local introduction in 2002. State and local health agencies provide surveillance of mosquito-borne diseases although reduced resources and personnel limits its scope. With the addition of citizen scientists from the greater...
Guest Scientist Blog by Kenan Arica, NASA JPL Summer Intern Mosquitoes are vectors for diseases such as malaria, dengue, Zika, Rift Valley fever, West Nile virus, chikungunya and other diseases. Unfortunately, climate change is expected to make the spread of mosquito-borne diseases worse. This summer, I did some exploratory research to see if we could combine the power of GLOBE citizen...
Guest Scientist Blog by Jacqueline Castellanos, NASA JPL Summer Intern My summer internship at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory exposed me to all parts of the scientific process. I went on a hike in search of mosquitoes, collected data, and I had the opportunity to teach teachers how to use the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper. In my analysis, I learned how to work with data of varying...
Left: SEES Mosquito Mapper intern Maia W. in the field, sampling a mosquito larvae habitat on a construction site in her hometown. Right: GLOBE Observer Land Cover observations collected alongside mosquito habitat identifications provide important data for analysis. Photo credit: Author. As part of our field research, SEES interns identify local potential...
SEES Mosquito Mapper intern Lindsay W. in the field, sampling a mosquito larvae habitat site in her study area. Photo credit: Author. California has recently emerged from a multi-year drought, but I live at the edge of a town in the chaparral where water is typically scarce. I often travel miles by car to find potential mosquito habitats, only to find no larvae in those water sources. I...
Left: example larva of the genus Toxorhynchites recovered from one of the author's research traps. Right: Larval specimen of prey, Culex quinquefasciatus, for comparison. Toxorhynchites are predator larvae and easily recognized by their unique morphology and larger size. Photo credit: Author. Toxorhynchites is part of the mosquito family (Culicidae),...
SEES Mosquito Mapper intern Parker L. in his lab, identifying a specimen recovered from one of his mosquito research traps. Photo credit: Author. I am fascinated at how effectively Aedes albopictus has expanded beyond its historical geographical origins in Asia, sticking its proboscis into Texas along with every continent across the globe except Antarctica. This invasive mosquito,...
SEES Mosquito Mapper intern Thien-Nha T. in the field, documenting potential larvae habitat sites. Photo credit: Author. Before this project, I never ever imagined I would be interested in studying any type of bugs, much less mosquitoes -- my itch-causing nemesis. However, the more I realized how interconnected these bugs are with the rest of the world and even my own life, the more I saw...
SEES Mosquito Mapper intern in the field, setting mosquito traps. Photo credit: Clara U. Something that has fascinated me in the research I have done so far is the vast impact that human activity has on the distribution of mosquito communities. Globalization and human travel are thought to be responsible for introducing many mosquito-borne diseases to unlikely areas, for example, spreading...
Dr. Caio França speaking at the Science Museum Oklahoma. Oklahoma is an ecologically diverse state in the Southern Plains region of the U.S. It is part of the central flyway for migratory birds, which makes it a sentinel location for West Nile Virus (WNV) surveillance. Why birds? Birds play a role in the WNV transmission cycle. Mosquitoes become infected with WNV when they bite an infected...
You may have heard the news- there is an exciting challenge this summer for GLOBE Observer users! The challenge follows in the spirit of early cartographers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and you can win one of two ways. First, use GLOBE Observer to map as much land cover as possible in any GLOBE country by September 2. The top data collectors...
Our team has received several questions about what to do when mosquitoes are found in a natural habitat, such as an estuary or a wetland. When you use the Mosquito Habitat Mapper and your mosquito observations are finally logged, you are then prompted to do Step 4, “Eliminating Mosquito Breeding Habitat. By dumping or treating water you can significantly decrease the spread of...
With the beginning of the mosquito season comes the need for protecting individuals and communities from mosquitoes. When you use the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper tool, you are not only providing useful surveillance information about when and where mosquitoes are found: you also are providing an important public service known as “source reduction.” Take a look around your home,...
Have app, will travel! I am reporting from the field, the campus of the University of Hawaii, Manoa (UHM). I am meeting with citizen scientists here who are collecting data using the GLOBE Observer app. I had the good fortune to meet Dr. Floyd Reed, a professor in the Department of Biology. His lab is involved in modifying strains of Culex mosquitoes so that they are unable to transmit avian...
If you have used the GLOBE Observer Mosquito Habitat Mapper, you know that the app allows you to identify your larva and apply its scientific name. You may have wondered why we use these names? For instance, Aedes aegypti’s common name is the “Yellow Fever Mosquito”. Why don’t we just use the common name when we talk about our work in this project? A unique name, used across many...
We’ve discussed how the mosquito story is a climate story and a human story, looking at climate history and human history. Contemporary climate change is now playing a role in the expansion of vector borne disease- not only in space but also in time. How many days are mosquitoes active in your city? You can find out by using this Disease Danger Day tool:...
Our mosquito story is a climate story. In the Early Holocene around 8200 years ago, the area that is today the Sahara Desert was much wetter and supported grassland vegetation. During the mid-Holocene, about 5000 years ago, changes in the monsoon began to dry out much of north Africa. This caused the Sahara to expand, and the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) was forced to retreat to areas...
Welcome Message from Dr. Russanne Low, GLOBE Mission Mosquito Science Lead Welcome to the GLOBE Mission Mosquito Scientists’ Blog. This is the space on the campaign site where student scientists, citizen scientists of all ages, and full-time researchers discuss and explore how changing weather, extreme weather events, land cover modification, insect ecology, and even human behavior...
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